The Ministry of Business Development has launched the 2020 Presidential Pitch to provide funds for 10 young entrepreneurs to grow start-up businesses.
The initiative is a competition of business concepts in which young people below 35 years who have impactful, innovative, scalable and viable ideas will present their business plans to vie for government support.
The project is in line with the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision of assisting young entrepreneurs to incubate their business ideas and improve livelihoods.
The program by the current administration is to curb unemployment rate in the country by supporting young entrepreneurs with funding to boost their businesses for job creations.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the Ministry’s forecourt, the Minister for Business Development Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal disclosed that, the program is meant to provide soft funding for young entrepreneurs who have brilliant ideas but lack the finances to execute them.
According to him, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s main aim is to build the entrepreneurship eco-system that fosters and encourage young people to be business owners and not job seekers.
“Under season one and two, 460 jobs were created by the 20 people we supported, we gave them the money, they had the ideas and implemented it and that created jobs. Ghana is largely a youthful country with over 60% of the people being below 30years, the President want to build confidence in the youth to be business owners”, Dr. Awal noted.
He urged young Ghanaian entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas across the country to take up the challenge and apply for this year’s pitch with their simple basic business plan which should contain four elements which are feasible, innovative, scalable and employability, “these are the four business plan criteria that anybody can meet”, he hinted.
Significantly,The minister said the government was working towards building the capacity of young people to create jobs and wealth for themselves and the nation.
This year, the government of Ghana through the Ministry has set aside ȼ1million to support the best 10 of the applicants at the grand finale which will take place on the 1st of July, 2020.
Interested applicants are to log on into the Ministry’s website at www.mobd.gov.gh and fill in the application form latest by 24th June, 2019
Story by: Kwaku Stephen
