Young entrepreneurs to get massive boost in 2022 budget – Oppong Nkrumah

Minister for Information, Kojo Oppong-Nkrumah, says the 2022 budget will focus on creating an enabling environment for young entrepreneurs in the country to develop and grow their businesses.

Youth entrepreneurship has become topical in recent weeks following public discussions about how young Ghanaians can be supported to succeed in private businesses.

In line with this, Mr Oppong Nkrumah in an engagement session on social networking site, Twitter last month took feedback from young entrepreneurs to aid the government to address concerns of youth entrepreneurship in the country as it prepares to present the 2022 Budget Statement and Economic Policy to Parliament on Wednesday, November 17, 2021.

In a separate interview with journalists in Accra yesterday, the Minister said the government has taken note of the concerns of young entrepreneurs in the country and will through the 2022 budget provide opportunities that will address these concerns.

“Through several youth engagement platforms, young people have given government feedback on the status of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and what they will like the government to do for them to make it easier for them to do business. The government will respond positively with interventions that will deepen and broaden the already existent opportunities,” he said.

According to him, the government would use the 2022 budget to address concerns that hinder young people from venturing into entrepreneurship like access to finance and access to a ready market.

The government in the past has created numerous initiatives to address the spate of youth unemployment in the country. Programmes such as the Ghana CARES ‘Obaatanpa’ and programmes pursued by the National Board for Small-Scale Industries and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme are designed to make access to finance and skills in entrepreneurship, agriculture, small-scale industry, tourism, and trade, easier for the youth.

Additionally, the government has been working to establish the Ghana Development Bank to provide funds for industries and manufacturing sectors of the economy.

These initiatives coupled with government interventions through the 2022 budget according to the Minister will provide the youth with abundant opportunities to nurture and grow their businesses.