The Managing Director of FBNBank, Mr Victor Yaw Asante, has revealed that the Bank will next year, further focus on the youth.
Speaking to a section of the media in an interview on his views of the recently read budget, Mr Asante mentioned that “from the plans revealed by the Minister of Finance at the recent budget reading in Parliament there seems to be a focus on the youth. This development is very welcomed by FBNBank as it is in line with our own agenda for the coming year.”
“The youth are a key demographic group in Ghana and also across Africa. In Ghana we have about 57 percent of our population categorised as being ‘under 25 years and this number certainly increases when you raise the age benchmark for youth to 30 years. With such a significant percentage of our population in the youth bracket it is imperative that they are catered for in any developmental plan,” he said.
“FBNBank Ghana has accordingly factored them in our plans for 2022. Issues like career development, training, mentorship and entrepreneurship all feature prominently in what FBNBank seeks to offer the youth of Ghana next year.”
He said “in the area of business, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a key focus and over the years we have been delivering significant value to that segment. With our focus on the youth, we believe we are best placed to support young entrepreneurs for example who decide to venture into self-employment with not just products but also the relevant skills and advise to ensure that they succeed. ”
The 2022 budget statement themed “Building a sustainable entrepreneurial nation: Fiscal Consolidation and Job creation” and presented on November 17, 2021, by the Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori-Atta outlined the government’s plan to address one of the major problems facing the country; youth unemployment.
This brought into focus the rising unemployment and raised the need for young persons to consider venturing into self-employment.
According to Mr Asante, “young persons need to have a clear plan or vision of what they seek to do or achieve. They also need to be prepared to learn or undergo a period of apprenticeship. At the end of the day, the ones who show greater preparedness and appetite are the ones who stand a better chance to benefit from the bank’s opportunities and even those to be offered via the 2022 budget.”
“If a young person decides to be an entrepreneur, for example, he or she must have a good idea of what the business entails and how to go about it. In addition to these, they must be committed and be relentless in their push. These are some of the issues we would expect young persons to pay attention to,” he said.
