The Ministry of Business Development has launched the 2020 Presidential Pitch with the call on young entrepreneurs to “bring the ideas” for presidential rewards.
Ten successful finalists would be offered the opportunity to pitch their business plans before the President and other officials on July 1st,2020.
They will get the support to grow their start-up businesses with one million cedis at the stake for the competitive business concepts, which is in its third season and has employed many other Ghanain youth.
People below the age 35 year with impactful, innovative, scalable and viable ideas will present their business plans to vie for government support.
Speaking at a brief ceremony at the Ministry’s forecourt on Wednesday, the Minister for Business Development Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal disclosed that, the program is meant to provide soft funding for young entrepreneurs who have brilliant ideas but lack the finances to execute them.
“The idea is to tell young people that the government responsible and persuasive to you,ring the ideas” he said.
“Under season one and two, 460 jobs were created by the 20 people we supported, we gave them the money, they had the ideas and implemented it and that created jobs.
“Ghana is largely a youthful country with over 60% of the people being below 30-years, the President want to build confidence in the youth to be business owners.”
The program by the current administration is to curb unemployment rate in the country by supporting young entrepreneurs with funding to boost their businesses for job creations.
According to Dr Awal, the program has set a 10-year target to turn thousands of Ghanaian youth into entrepreneurs who also employ others.
“Every year we will keep on increasing the number, it’s not static. By the time we are ten years we should be with thousand people.
“The business plan entry must first be innovative, have an impact on society, should be scalable and also have employment capability.These are the four business plan criteria that anybody can meet.”
.He urged young Ghanaian entrepreneurs with brilliant business ideas across the country to take up the challenge and apply for this year’s pitch with their simple basic business plan.
The winners of the maiden event in 2018 were offered a minimum of GH¢20,000 and a maximum of GH¢50,000 each, with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo personally donating GH¢25,000 to the first award winner. They were also given brand new Dell laptops atthe launch yesterday.
The 2019 edition saw two female students from the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) – Matilda Asantewaa Sampong and Emilee Otoo Quayson, emerged the winner, taking home a GH¢60,000 investment package.
Source: ghanaguardian.com