Programme to equip young entrepreneurs launched

The Country Director of the British Department for International Development (DFID), Mr Jim McAlpine, says the UK government is working with the government of Ghana to improve the business enabling environment for small businesses.

He said the British Council’s Skills Hub had, so far, supported 4,000 young Ghanaians through paid internship, employment and entrepreneurial skills training.

Mr McAlpine said this at the launch of a new programme dubbed: “Enhancing development of Ghanaian entrepreneurs (EDGE)” in Accra yesterday.

EDGE programme

It is a programme that seeks to equip young Ghanaian entrepreneurs with the needed skills and resources to overcome barriers and grow their businesses.

It is also designed to create a thriving community of entrepreneurs through increased access to business development services and financing.

The main aim of EDGE is to bring together a network of entrepreneurs and its intermediaries, especially financial institutions, in a move to assist them to expand their businesses.

It is an initiative of the Enhancing Growth in New Enterprises (ENGINE), a multi-year entrepreneurship development programme implemented by TechnoServe, with funding from the UK Government through the DFID.

UK support

According to Mr McAlpine, the UK’s Trade and Investment team in Ghana was providing Ghanaian companies with advice and assistance to export to the UK, as well as support to UK companies which wanted to create opportunities for Ghanaian businesses in their supply chains.

He said although the British government had a strong commitment to support Ghana’s business sector, the onus was mainly on the private sector to show interest in partnering the government to develop the sector.

In Ghana, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) make up the bulk of businesses, constituting about 70 per cent of the private sector.

The sector is plagued with numerous challenges, notable among them being the lack of finance and access to credit.

Ghana government

The Minister of State in charge of Private Sector Development, Dr Rashid Pelpuo, said the EDGE programme would encourage many youth to venture into the world of entrepreneurship.

He urged the private sector to take up the challenge and partner the government to address problems that continued to affect the growth of the country’s development.

He said although the government was making momentous efforts to address those problems, the support of the private sector would be a major boost towards enhancing the

SMEs sector.

Dr Pelpuo, therefore, commended the UK government for funding the programmes, adding that “with this kind of support, young entrepreneurs will have the capacity to grow their businesses”.

For her part, the Chief Executive of L’aine Services Limited, Dr Ellen Hagan, stressed the need for the government to support SMEs to grow, since, without their contribution, the economy would experience little growth.