Government to use GH¢10 billion to create 1 million jobs
YouStart is a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs - Ken Ofori-Atta
Finance Minister Ken Ofori-Atta has announced that government's flagship initative; the YouStart program is set to launch in June this year.
According to him, the GH¢10 billion initiative which is part of the government's efforts to curb unemployment will shape Ghana's economy into an entrepreneurial one.
The YouStart program is also part of the programs government intends to use revenue from the collection of the E-Levy.
"We will be launching the YouStart program which is the GH¢10 billion historic program starting in June and we would be able to see the immediate deployment of the resources to the teeming mass of youth to get enterprise employment and support for the youth so that we become the entrepreneurial nation that we advocated for."
The initiative which was first announced during the reading of the 2022 budget in November 2021 proposes to use GH¢1 billion each year to catalyze an ecosystem to create 1 million jobs for the teeming youth.
According to the Finance Minister, the initiative which is in partnership with Finance Institutions and Development Partners will create an entrepreneurial economy that empowers the youth to exploit their talents and “become job creators instead of job seekers”.
Challenges including access to credit and finance, regulatory and tax burden, lack of skills, etc are expected to be dealt with under the YouStart Initiative.
“Mr. Speaker, this understanding of the youth employment challenge, as well as extensive consultations with stakeholders including youth associations and educational 24 institutions across the country, have led to the development of the YouStart initiative which proposes to use GH¢1 billion each year to catalyze an ecosystem to create 1 million jobs and in partnership with the Finance Institutions and Development Partners, raise another GH¢2 billion cedis. In addition, our local Banks have agreed to a package that will result in increasing their SME portfolio up to GH¢5 billion over the next 3 years.”
The Minister further stated that these interventions will result in a GH¢10 billion cedis contribution to the Private sector and YouStart over the next three years.
He said, “Mr. Speaker, YouStart is a vehicle for supporting young entrepreneurs to gain access to capital, training, technical skills, and mentoring to enable them to launch and operate their own businesses.”
