President Akufo-Addo in a group photograph with some winners of the Presidential Pitch contest in Accra
President Akufo-Addo yesterday put smiles on the faces of the 10 finalists of the maiden edition of the Presidential Pitch Competition.
He presented them with cheques for between GH¢30,000 and GH¢50,000 as their prizes.
The Presidential Pitch is a business idea competition aimed at expanding the entrepreneurial climate to enable Ghanaian youth come up with creative ideas that would be developed into global giants.
Vanessa Limann, 19, who emerged the overall winner of the competition, was lucky to receive a personal donation of GH¢25,000 from the President from his salary.
That was in addition to the GH¢50,000 cash prize that she won, with the rest receiving between GH¢45,000 and GH¢30,000.
In short speech ahead of the presentation, President Akufo-Addo, commended the winners for their determination and sense of creativity and encouraged them to continue to develop their talents and skills.
He said the 10 individuals demonstrated that they hold the key to Ghana’s future and stressed the need for them to aim higher in their chosen fields of endeavour.
With the ability to attract the right market and ideas, the President was of the conviction that the young entrepreneurs would make meaningful contributions to the development of the country.
President Akufo-Addo stressed the need for the youth to develop the capacity to think, create, innovate, insisting that without that it would be difficult for the country to develop.
On behalf of her colleagues, Vanessa Limann, thanked the President for the honour and promised not to disappoint him and the government and people of Ghana.
The maiden edition of the Presidential Pitch forms part of government’s efforts to implement concerted policies and programmes that would create and expand the frontiers of ecosystem entrepreneurship skills among Ghanaian youth.
By Charles Takyi-Boadu, Presidential Correspondent