The Vice President of the republic of Ghana, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has launched an entrepreneurship programme aimed at equipping the youth with knowledge and skills.
The programme, Business in a Box (BizBox) is a $55 million Project that seeks to create jobs for over 250,000 youth in the country as plans to tackle the high unemployment rate.
At the launch of the project in Accra on Monday January 22, 2024, Dr. Bawumia said the initiative would boost the entrepreneurship spirit of the Ghanaian youth and create a substantial number of jobs across the country.
According to the Vice President, the project would focus mainly on agricultural and agribusinesses, tourism and creative arts, youth social networking and building and construction sectors of the economy adding that the project forms part of government’s vision in creating more jobs as it has done since 2017.
He added that, the BizBox Project will add to the existing ‘Young Africa Works – Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment programme (YEEP)’, which was executed between 2020 and 2022 that empowered approximately 94,000 youth across the country.
“Now, armed with a budget of USD55 million, the new BizBox Project sets an ambitious goal to empower 250,000 individuals, support 125,000 with start-up kits, provide market access support to 50,000 businesses, and regulatory support to 40,000 businesses across the country,” he stressed.
The project is expected to be implemented by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) under five pillars namely; Youth Skills Development, Access to Market, Access to Startup Kits, Youth Social Networks, and Institutional Strengthening, Policy, and Regulatory Support.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, expressed the Agency’s commitment towards the successful implementation of the BizBox Project.
She noted that the initiative was in alignment with the existing government programmes and policies to create jobs for the teeming youth.
The CEO also mentioned thar BizBox will leverage partnerships with private sector, BDS providers, industry associations, and various stakeholders to ensure the success and sustainability of this programme.