The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Foundation have organised a sensitisation workshop to educate the youth in the Western North Region on a Business in a Box (BizBox) project. The Project is a four-year collaborative initiative between the GEA and Mastercard Foundation, beginning this year to 2027, and sought to equip the Ghanaian youth with the requisite knowledge and skills in entrepreneurship to setup competitive enterprises. The initiative is targeting about 250,000 young people between 15 to 35 years, with 70 per cent being women and 10 per cent Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) across the country. It would be anchored on five pillars, namely Youth skills development, Access to market, Access to start-up, Youth social network, and Institutional strengthening policy and regulatory support. Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, whose speech was read on her behalf, said the BizBox project was designed to build on the successes of the Young Africa Works progra mme which was implemented between 2020 and 2022 and provided work opportunities for about 94,000 youth across the country. The intervention, she explained, was designed to achieve even more by providing skills development, mentoring and coaching, access to markets and regulatory support to about 250,000 young people, including PWDs. 'The youth are the leaders of change and innovation and they only need the chance to demonstrate their skills, so this situation calls for smart and sustainable initiatives and policies that prioritize their development and integration,' she noted. Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said the project would be instrumental in addressing some of the key challenges the youth faced like lack of entrepreneurship education, limited access to markets and relevant job skills. 'The project will provide a comprehensive framework for our youth to succeed as entrepreneurs and contribute to the growth of Western North Region and Ghana's economy,' she added. Mr Louis Owusu Agyapong, Wiawso Municipal Chief Exe cutive, said the government recognised the pivotal role of the youth in national development, 'so we are committed to fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem, providing integrated support for young businesses to grow and succeed.' He commended the GEA and Mastercard Foundation for their unwavering commitment towards supporting the youth to develop and contribute their quota towards the country's economic growth. Madam Habiba Sumani, Western North Regional Director of the GEA, stated that the collaborative efforts between the Agency and the Mastercard Foundation through the BizBox Project would ensure the success and sustainability of youth-led businesses in the region. Ms Gloria Mensah, a beneficiary of previous intervention from Bibiani, lauded the implementers of the project, and called on her fellow young people to fully get registered to help improve upon their business ideas. Source: Ghana News Agency
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