Mr Ken Ofori-Atta, the Minister of Finance, has urged the youth, whom he described as the ‘Resource Envelop,’ to take advantage of government’s initiative to make a headway in life.
He mentioned programmes such as the Ghana CARES ‘Obaatanpa programme’ and those being pursued by the National Board for Small-Scale Industries and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, designed to make access to finance and skills in entrepreneurship, agriculture, small-scale industry, tourism, and trade, easier for the youth.
Additionally, government was establishing the Ghana Development Bank to provide funds for industries and manufacturing sectors.
These initiatives, together with the technological advancement, would provide the youth with abundant opportunities to nurture and grow their businesses, he said.
Mr Ofori-Atta gave the advice as the Special Guest at the Springboard Youth Dialogues in Sunyani on Monday.
The Springboard Youth Dialogue is an initiative of the Springboard Road Show Foundation, a youth mentoring platform, focused on entrepreneurship, investment, career and talent development for the youth in Ghana.
Participants included young entrepreneurs, start-up business owners, students from the various tertiary institutions, and prominent youth in the Bono Region.
The programme was broadcasted on radio stations in the middle belt, with the Finance Minister and other resource persons responding to questions from the youth.
Mr Ofori-Atta said, for instance, the Ghana-CARES programme was designed to stimulate economic growth through increased investment in selected sectors such as agriculture, trade and industry, tourism, housing, Science and Technology and the financial Sector.
He said government would make efforts towards providing the youth with access to finance and skills in those areas to expand the production in the selected areas.
Mr Ofori-Atta urged the youth to grab the opportunities in technology as the world had now become more advanced technologically.
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He said the increase in the use of mobile money and efficient payment systems had made it easier for people to pay in real time.
“And to crown it all, with digital address systems and the multiplicity of delivery services, the product can be delivered to a client you may never meet in your entire life,” the Minister added.
The resource persons at the event were from the Ministry of Finance, Ghana Enterprises Agency, National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme,
and the Springboard Road Show Foundation.
