Victoria Michaels
International model Victoria Michaels has empowered Ghanaian youth to take the initiative of starting their own businesses instead of always depending on others for survival.
According to her, that is the best way to deal with unemployment, even though it’s not an easy journey.
Victoria, who was recently named among top 50 young CEOs in Ghana, said this in a statement to NEWS-ONE over the weekend.
Global youth unemployment is currently on the rise again because of the global pandemic ravaging the world today and young people are likely to be disproportionately affected by the economic fallout from COVID-19.
With little or no social protection available in the world’s developing countries, very few people can afford to be unemployed. Improving employment opportunities for young people requires a broad and concerted effort from all stakeholders.
The collaboration between communities, academia, businesses and governments can drive young minds to innovate in a way that influences all key economic drivers in a measurable and sustainable way.
According to Victoria, “Young people should be encouraged to think about what society needs, create a product for that need, and effectively market it. As the job market is limited, and with youths flocking to already saturated urban centres for employment opportunities, young people should be encouraged to create their own entrepreneurial opportunities instead.”
“No doubt, starting a business is a difficult endeavour which does not come without its own risks. Society has to build a support system for this. Crowd-funding, venture capitalists, and start-up accelerators are just some examples.
The fear of the unknown is the reason why a lot of young people are still unemployed. Who said that failure is a bad thing? In fact, it is a necessary requirement for success. It prepares you better than many who didn’t have to try as much as you did,” she stressed.
“The comfort zone is the worst place to be in building a successful future. Identify what you’re passionate about, and skilfully and mentally empower yourself so you’re ready for any opportunity that comes knocking on your door. Attend events, seek information and talk to people who have experience with what you want to do. Most importantly, be versatile and open-minded to learning new things along the way,” she encouraged.
“Lastly, you can’t predict your future but you can plan for it. If you’re still clocking in every morning, then start planning to give yourself a better future by thinking of a business you can run. Venturing into entrepreneurship will not just make you financially independent but also make you empower others by creating employment opportunities for them through your business. Now is the right time to start,” Victoria concluded.
By Francis Addo