Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, has stated that the government’s flagship YouStart programme is ready to be rolled out in April this year.
The programme which was announced by the finance minister during the presentation of the 2022 budget in parliament is to be a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills and mentoring to enable them launch and operate their own businesses.
He was addressing attendees at a business pitch event as part of the pilot phase of the programme on Wednesday, March 2, 2022.
“I believe that addressing youth unemployment through a coordinated approach and at the same time devoting resources to build on Ghana’s human capital would ultimately support and sustain our vision of transforming ‘Ghana Beyond Aid.’ As a country, we will take our destiny into our own hands and determine our economic fortunes without leaving anyone behind when this vision manifest,” he said.
“…So today, the government is acting with a plan that gives our people the confidence to pursue their ambitions. Our strategy is a simple one, back hardworking people, create local businesses and support existing ones.”
“Government’s policy direction to pursue our vision is to create an enterprise-driven economy. In this regard, the government will continue to strengthen the links between education and job market stakeholders and provide access to finance, skills, and markets for our young entrepreneurs, so that the private sector is well resourced to create jobs for our teeming youth,” he stated.
YouStart will be implemented by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), and partner financial institutions at the cost of GHS 10 billion for the next three years.
Ofori-Atta said this will help government accelerate job creation and ultimately create additional one million jobs for Ghanaians in the next three years.
Specifically, YouStart will support youth-led enterprises with soft loans of up to GHC50,000 to help start-ups (in particular by young graduates and school leavers) and small businesses to expand; starter packs (soft loans tied to equipment acquisition) of up to GHC50,000 for individuals and GH¢100,000 for associations and groups; and a standardized loan package of between GH¢100,000 to GHC400,000 at concessional rates for SMEs from financial institutions.
Source: ghanaweb.com
