The report of the partnership between government and a consortium of nine banks to provide credit to existing youth-led companies to create one million jobs in the next three years is one of the trending stories in the Ghanaian press on Tuesday.
The Graphic reports that the government has partnered a consortium of nine banks to provide credit to existing youth-led companies and, in the process, create one million jobs in the next three years.
Under the commercial programme of the YouStart initiative, the banks will provide support for existing youth-led businesses with amounts between GH¢100,000 working capital and GH¢500,000 for those in need of capital expenditure.
The interest rate will not be more than 10 per cent.
In an interview with the Daily Graphic, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB), John Awuah, listed the participating banks as GCB Bank PLC, Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), Access Bank and Absa Bank.
The rest are FBN Bank, Agricultural Development Bank (ADB), Fidelity Bank, Ecobank and Bank of Africa.
Mr Awuah expressed the confidence that with time, more banks would come on board.
He added that the banking community was aware of the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in accessing credit, and so the scheme was aimed at making lending conditions less stringent to enable businesses to scale up and create jobs.
“The banking sector is convinced that the government wants to build an entrepreneurial nation through youth entrepreneurship. We have decided that this is good, and we want to grow with the private sector,” he said.
The newspaper says that Ghana and Denmark have signed a renewed agreement designed to deploy modern technology on the Volta Lake to determine safe navigational channels to reduce accidents and their attendant deaths.
The agreement is part of the third phase of the Strategic Sector Collaboration (SSC) between the two countries in the maritime sector.
This phase of the project will be funded at a cost of 10 million Danish Kroner, equivalent to GH¢11 million, to run from 2022 to 2025.
In line with the agreement, experts from Denmark have commenced a satellite imaging project on the lake to derive data to help in mapping out the navigational hazards on the lake.
The Director-General of the Danish Maritime Authority, Andreas Nordseth, signed on behalf of Denmark, while the Director-General of the Ghana Maritime Authority (GMA), Thomas Alonsi, signed on behalf of Ghana.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Nordseth indicated that the renewed agreement provided a framework for the Danish government to enhance the capacity of Ghanaian pilots and tugboat captains at the Tema Port.
Similarly, he said, it would also enhance the supervision of maritime training, education and certification and significantly improve the enforcement of maritime regulation.
He pointed out that Denmark was also working on competency among fishermen, looking at the international legal framework and structure.
“We stand committed and look forward to further strengthening collaboration with the various partners in Ghana’s maritime sector,” Mr Nordseth said.
The Ghanaian Times reports that Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) has signed an agreement with five universities to expand its programme across five regions in Ghana.
The five universities; University of Ghana, University for Development Studies, SD Dombo University of Business and Integrated Development Studies, University of Cape Coast and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology will be working with KIC to implement the AgriTech Challenge (made up of Classic and Pro) and incubation modules of KIC’s programme portfolios.
The universities will support implementation of the modules in the following regions: Greater Accra, Northern, Upper West, Central and Ashanti.
The collaboration with the universities is made possible with the funding support of the Mastercard Foundation under the Young Africa Works initiative which seeks to target three million young people, particularly women, to secure employment that they see as dignified and fulfilling by 2030.
The four-year collaboration programme similarly aligns with KIC vision of developing the next generation of youth in agricultural entrepreneurship and would be expanded to include other tertiary institutions across Ghana.
The KIC and the universities strategic partnership will allow both organisations to share strength, experiences, methodologies, and resources to create deeper impact in generating youth interest and changing mindset of the youth about agriculture.
The collaboration will also help create job opportunities, empower the vulnerable and create a resilient agricultural sector in the long term for Ghana.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mr Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, Executive Director of KIC, said it had been KIC’s plan to reach out to more young entrepreneurs to participate in the programme.
“Our collaboration with the universities allows us to reach more young people to increase our impact agenda of building more entrepreneurs for the agricultural sector. By introducing young people to the agriculture value chain and the career opportunities available, young people will have more exposure to the industry and discover the interest to pursue a career in agriculture,” he said.
For the universities, this collaboration is timely, as it propels them to imbibe the spirit of entrepreneurship in young people in the wake of high unemployment and food security challenges.
The newspaper says that the government last Wednesday concluded phase one of its YouStart stakeholder engagements after engaging the last batch of government institutions, regional ministers and Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives (MMDAs) from the Eastern, Volta and Oti regions in Koforidua.
The government is expected to begin phase two of the stakeholder engagements from today during which civil society organisations (CSO), Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Association, identifiable youth groups, NABCO beneficiaries, Faith Based Organisations (FBOS), as well as the media will be engaged to sensitise them on the programme and to get their feedback ahead of the launch by President Nana AddoDankwaAkufo-Addo.
YouStart is a programme that seeks to support young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital; training and technical skills that will enable them start, build and grow their own businesses.
This initiative targets young people and students between the ages of 18-35 years who have brilliant business ideas and viable businesses, and supports these individuals to nurture, grow and expand their businesses and job creation in the economy
Speaking at the last engagement programme for some government institutions, regional ministers and MMDAs, the Minister For Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development and member of Parliament for Okere, Mr Dan Botwe, indicated that due to the potential impact of the programme on the local economy, it was important MMDCES were sensitized on it ahead of its launch.
The Deputy Minister for Finance and member of Parliament for Ejisu, Dr John Ampontuah Kumah who represented the Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta said the government would now proceed to engage with various organisations and groups in order to get the understanding and acceptability of the programme.
“So far we have engaged every Municipal, Metropolitan and District Chief Executives and have tasked them to set up YouStart desks at the grassroots level ahead of the launch.
“In the coming days, we will also engage with civil society organisations, Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Association of Ghana Industries, identifiable youth groups, NABCO beneficiaries, FBOs and the media,” he said
GIK/APA