The YouStart Secretariat at the Ministry of Finance met with a cross section of Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in Accra as part of the government’s attempts to have extensive public engagement on the YouStart Programme before its official launch.
The purpose of the stakeholder conference was to walk CSOs through the YouStart policy structure, framework, and beneficiary group requirements, as well as to solicit their support and suggestions prior to the program’s formal launch.
Mr. Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), indicated in his presentation that over 100,000 young people look for work each year, describing the situation as “awful.”
He pointed out that the majority of today’s major industries and multi-national agencies all began as small businesses.
According to the presentation, there were 187,763 workers who had lost their employment and were looking for work.
He demonstrated that half of Ghana’s youth, estimated at 5,872,229, were categorized as underemployed, which he defined as working below one’s capacity, and that the YouStart was critical in ensuring that enough capacity building was done to get the best out of the teeming youth.
Ms. Patience Arko Boham, a Ministry official, also discussed the YouStart program’s advantages, benefits, and qualifying criteria. To qualify for the program, she explained, candidates needed a verifiable digital address, a Ghana Card, and two weeks of training.
