A five-day training aimed at building the capacities of 30 entrepreneurs across the country is underway in Accra.
It is being organised by the Ministry of Business Development in collaboration with the Institute for the Creation and Development Enterprise of Spain (INCYDE).
The training followed an agreement signed between the ministry and the Institute in September last year, to provide training opportunities to 2000 young entrepreneurs and start-ups across the country.
In a statement read on his behalf at the opening of the training in Accra yesterday, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, Minister of Business Development, said that, the training would enable transfer of skills and expertise from Spain to local entrepreneurs and support the realisation of the government’s Ghana Beyond Aid Agenda.
The training, he explained, would address challenges faced by local entrepreneurs including independent skills, entrepreneurial orientation, access to finance, limited training among others, to make them competitive in the global market.
As a country with Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) contributing about 70 per cent to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and constitute 92 per cent of businesses, he said the government was focused on creating the enabling environment for entrepreneurs to succeed.
So far, through the National Entrepreneurial Innovative Plan (NEIP), the Ministry, Dr Awal said had rolled out several initiatives including the presidential pitch which supported 1,350 entrepreneurs with funding ranging between GHȻ10,000 and GHȻ100,000 and the training of 2000 entrepreneurs throughout the country.
He stated that the ministry had launched the students’ entrepreneurship innovative which seeks to promote entrepreneurship education with the goal of attracting young people at the University of Ghana.
Additionally, the women entrepreneurship with disability initiative which would provide funding support to women entrepreneurs with disability had also been launched.
John Kumah, Chief Executive Officer of NEIP said that the 30 participants were undergoing instructions as trainers to be able to train applicants of NEIP supports in the various entrepreneurship hubs.
A total of 10,000 trainees are scheduled to partake in the entrepreneurship programme which would commence nationwide from the second week of June this year, he indicated.
Last year, he said that 7,000 others were trained under the Presidential Business Support programme to build their capacities in exploring various markets, how to identify different sources of funding, among others.
Facilitator of the workshop, Sergio Alvarez Rodrigues, said the training would sharpen the expertise of entrepreneurs to operate their businesses efficiently for improved returns.
BY CLAUDE NYARKO ADAMS
