NORSAAC, a gender based advocacy nongovernmental organization in partnership with the Africa Skills Hub and NiV has organized the maiden edition of Social Enterprise Forum in the northern region.
The program comes under the Women’s Entrepreneurship and Livelihoods Initiative (WELI) project implemented in Ghana and Senegal.
Executive Director of NORSAAC, Mr. Alhassan Mohammed Awal said the program brought together stakeholders in the social enterprise sector to dialogue on the existing challenges undermining the sector and possible ways to overcome them.
He intimated the Social Enterprise concept is seen differently now compared to the past, therefore, the need to get stakeholders together to dialogue on how to contextualize it so that people from the north can also contribute to enhance the sector.
“So NORSAAC saw the need to partner some other organizations including the Africa Skills Hub NiV to organize this particular forum and get especially young people from the northern sector, people who have become like entrepreneurs with some kind of experience and potentials; so you will find the participants here from diverse areas just for us to have an inspiring dialogue” he explained.
He indicated that, “We believe that social enterprise, if we had to make a headway then the target should be the youth, why because, when you look at the demography we seem to have a growing youth population and that same age cohort seem to lacking behind, we seem not to having many of them getting into the space”.
He said this compels many young people going through their educational career to harbor the mindset of getting employed instead of creating employment.
The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Shani Alhassan Shaibu, for his part commended NORSAAC and its partners for the initiative.
He said building businesses to tackle social problems is a step in the right direction and a lasting solution to most of the issues facing us as a people.
“This falls within our government priority for the youth as a major source of human capital for the transformational agenda that Ghana requires. It also boosts our position to create equal opportunity for ‘All’ especially our highly youthful population”
Highlighting on the theme: “Unlocking the potential for wealth in women through social enterprising”, the Minister likened the theme to the vision of the Akufo-Addo government with the introduction of a number of youth centered policies.
He further chronicled the Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) programme, the Planting for Food and Jobs, Rearing for Food and Jobs, free Senior High School policy and construction of ten new youth resource centers in the country among others as some of the measures tailored for youth empowerment.
“Our government associate itself with the forum and theme since investing in building an entrepreneurial culture in our country is critical for national development. That is why a critical vision of our government is to build an economy which will create jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians through entrepreneurial support and youth development”
The WELI intervention is a gender-responsive economic empowerment strategy to address the increasing vulnerabilities of young women in rural communities in the era of Covid-19 in Ghana and Senegal.
