President John Mahama and Helga Boadi
Information reaching BUSINESS GUIDE indicates that most of the first batch of 107 entrepreneurs have either received scanty funds or nothing at all despite an announcement by President John Dramani Mahama at the official inauguration of the Accra Digital Centre about two weeks that about 100 young entrepreneurs have been supported under the YES Initiative.
President Mahama, it would be recalled, said his administration would increase funding for the YES Initiative from GH¢10 million to GH¢100 million but a registrant, Kofi Agyeman Yeboah, said his latest visit to his bankers showed nothing.
He said he has been furnished with a loan repayment plan (Schedule 1) from the YES Secretariat which said he is expected to make a total of eight quarterly payments of GH¢3,963.09 each beginning 30th November, this year, and make the last payment of GH¢3,963.12 on 30th August, 2018.
“I was shocked to learn that my account balance showed only GH¢26.50 after I was directed to open a current account with GCB. I made an initial deposit of GH¢50.00,” Mr Yeboah noted.
Yeboah said he applied to the YES Initiative seeking GH¢49,500.00 to start his business which would be located in Bawjiase in the Central Region.
His company intends to collaborate with cassava farmers and ‘Agbelima/Gari processors to repackage ‘gari’ for export and ‘Agbelima’ for the local market, under the ‘Collation of Associations for Self-Sustenance & Scientific Agri-Business with Value in Africa (CASSAVA).
The project was billed to cover four working centres – Awutu Senya District, Gomoa, Agona and Ajumako Enyan & Essiam.
The project was expected to involve more than 1,000 cassava farmers and ‘agbelima’/gari processors in various associations without any reliable market for their produce.
He said the YES Secretariat, by their loan repayment plan, told him he should expect GH¢35,000.00 after downsizing his initial request for GH¢49,500 to start the business.
Finally, he was told he could receive GH¢31,704.75 instead.
“If government will make mockery of us this way by enrolling us on the YES Initiative and announce to the whole world that it was doling out sums of money to support our business ventures but fail to advance the money to us, then I think this calls for worry,” another victim, who pleaded anonymity told this paper.
He said most members of the first batch have not received funds.
The Youth Enterprise Support (YES) Initiative has Helga J.M. Boadi as its CEO while Quarcu Boateng Dadson is Head of Operations.
By Samuel Boadi
samuel10gh@yahoo.com