UE/R: SOCO PROJECT FACILITATORS URGED TO WORK HARD FOR THE SUCCESS OF THE PROJECT – DCE NABDAM
The Upper East Regional manager of the Ghana Enterprises Agency, GEA Mr. Mohammed Bukari asserted that the Business In the Box project known as BizBox project builds on the successes of the Young Africa Works project implemented from 2020 to 2022 which provided work opportunities for approximately 94,000 youth across the country.
Mr. Bukari who made these known in an interview with GBC URA News in Bolgatanga, capital of the Upper East Region stated that the Business In the Box(BizBox Project), was an initiative by the Ghana Enterprises Agency, GEA in partnership with the MasterCard Foundation adding that the new intervention was designed to achieve even more by providing skills development, mentoring and coaching, access to markets and regulatory support to approximately 250,000 young women and men including Persons with Disabilities, PWDs with focus on supporting 125,000 of them with start-up kits to create new businesses, jobs and by extension better the livelihoods of our young people.
He said records from the Ghana Statistical Service in 2020 revealed that the Ghanaian youth constituted for 57 percent of the total population which drummed home the critical need to channel more resources towards their development to increase Ghana’s labour market.
Mr. Bukari said records from the International Labour Organization, ILO in 2023, indicated that approximately 14.3 million people were employed in Ghana, an increase from 14 million the previous year demonstrating that government had gradually delivered on its promise of job creation.
He further stated that the BizBox initiative was not about numbers but transforming lives and communities targeting young people between the ages of 15 to 35, Persons with Disabilities, PWDs, majority women-owned businesses and youth-enterprises.
Mr. Bukari also indicated that the project aligns with the vision of the MasterCard Foundation to enable 3 million young women and men to access dignified and fulfilling work by the year 2030 saying that the BizBox initiative would be instrumental in addressing some of the key challenges facing our youth such as lack of entrepreneurial education, limited access to markets, job-relevant skills and tools through five key pillars focusing on youth skills development, access to markets, start-up kits, youth social networks and institutional strengthening, policy and regulatory support.
The initiative according to the regional manager would focus on agriculture and agri-business 50 percent, tourism and creative industry 30 percent, building and construction 10 percent as well as others made up of electrical or electronic, wood and joinery, hairdressing among others would also constitute 10 percent.
Whilst calling on the youth to take advantage of the initiative to better their lot Mr. Bukari appealed to all stakeholders in the skills training industry, civil society organizations and religious groups to support the project to ensure its successful implementation for the benefit of our youth.
