The Western North Regional Director of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), Miss Habiba Sumani Yamboni, led a team of experts on Monday to commence training on entrepreneurship for youth in the region under the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP).
She is one of many lead facilitators spearheading the implementation of the GJSP, which is to be carried out across all regional and district offices in the country over a six-year period.
Monday’s opening session is the first of a series of workshops under the project to be held in all the municipalities and districts in the Western North Region.
Over 100 participants, willing to grow their businesses, turned up for the exercise, which was held at the regional office in Sefwi Wiawso.
Addressing the gathering, Madam Habiba Sumani admonished participants to take the training very seriously, as it is intended to help them shape up their business ideas for a good start.
“At the end of the training, we expect that at least 50% of you will have gained the required knowledge and skills to begin to put your ideas into a business,” she said.
“We are here to support you through this journey and to ensure that you start and grow a sustainable business to transcend your generation.
“I urge you all to participate fully in the lessons and the activities in order to progress to the next level.”
Madam Habiba said the business start-up grants will deploy financial support to selected youth who have successfully undergone training up to the intermediate level and exhibit the traits necessary to succeed as entrepreneurs.
“These grants will be available to individuals and self-formed groups, majority-owned by Ghanaians, with high potential to succeed in business and operating in any of the non-resource-based sectors, on a competitive basis,” she explained.
“The GEA will implement entrepreneurship training and grant support under Component 2.1 of the World Bank-funded Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP).”
The project comes out of a $200 million financing agreement between the Government of Ghana and the International Development Association (IDA), a member of the World Bank Group.
The World Bank is providing both financing and technical support to the Government of Ghana for the implementation of the Project for State Stability, Social Cohesion, and Economic Inclusion.
An estimated 50,000 youth would receive entrepreneurship training, mentoring, and coaching support under a standardized, quality-assured system under component 2.
The training workshop on Monday saw the University of Leicester graduate give some guidelines to the youth on how they can successfully benefit from the project to grow their businesses.
The objective of the project is to facilitate the socio-economic development of the country through improved support for skill development and job creation nationwide,” she said.
The project is being implemented over a six-year period and is expected to close on June 30, 2026.
Mrs. Habiba comes in as an expert in the field of youth and women’s development, having worked in various capacities for the GEA, formerly NBSSI.
She holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) and a master’s degree in Environment and Development Studies.
She also holds a BSc. (Hons.) in Agriculture (with specialization in Agricultural Economics) and other certificates in the fields of women’s entrepreneurship development, trade in services, sustainable business management, gender, and development.
With her over 12 years of post-qualification experience in various fields spanning from entrepreneurship development to business development to gender and research design, the government’s flagship program is tipped for success under her directorship.