Minister of Business Development Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has given assurance that the Ghanaian economy will bounce back to its feet from the shackles of the coronavirus pandemic under the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP).
He said Ghana until the crisis was doing very well with a GDP growth of about 7 percent, stressing that, “We are going to bounce back to make Ghana not only a very big business country but an exporter of goods and services to rest of Africa.”
Dr Mohammed Awal said the Akufo-Addo-led NPP administration is determined to drive the economy back on track, assuring further that the government will make Ghana the most valuable brand in the whole of Africa.
The minister made the assuring remarks during the launch of a new flagship Zongo Business policy Initiative in Tamale on Monday.
The Zongo Business Initiative aims at building the entrepreneurial skills of the youth in Zongo communities in Ghana for job creation.
This initiative, according to the Business Development Minister, is in consonance with President Nana Akufo-Addo’s commitment to strengthen the productive capacity of the youth.
Dr Awal explained that the two-day intensive training will build the capacities of men and women from the Zongo communities in the north to own businesses.
He said more than 60 percent of Ghana’s population is below 30 years; adding most of these youth have innovative ideas but lack capital to do business.
Dr Awal bemoaned that only 2 percent of graduates in the country get jobs in the formal sector with the majority searching for unavailable jobs.
“That is why His Excellency President Nana Akufo-Addo has set out entrepreneurship as a very important element in job creation and building businesses in this country”, he stated.
The multiple awarding winning Business Development Minister urged the participants drawn from the various regions in the north to take the training very seriously.
He disclosed that government through the Business Development Ministry will disburse GH¢10 million to small and medium size businesses in the Zongos across the five regions of the North.
Dr Awal added that only applicants who submit viable business proposals will be given the funds to do their business.
“We are trying to build about one hundred strong businesses in Ghana from this next year and at least 30 of those businesses must belong to the Zongos, you can do it, it’s not rocket science. The problem in this country is that most businesses are very small and we want to move away from small businesses to big businesses”, he said.
Consequently, Dr Awal implored the people of the Zongo communities and the Ghanaian electorate to give President Akufo-Addo another four-year mandate to deliver all these interventions for the country.
