The Minister for Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal yesterday put smiles on faces of 700 young entrepreneurs in the northern part of the country when he presented financial support totaling GH¢6 million to them to aid them expand their business.
The support is under the Ministry of Business Development’s ‘Presidential Business Support Programme: Window Two’.
Dr Mohammed Awal, Minister of Business Development, speaking at a ceremony here in Tamale to disburse the cheques, said, the support was to help the young entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and create job opportunities for the youth.
Dr Awal said the government was focused on supporting small businesses which constituted more than 80 per cent of all businesses in the country to enable young people to become job creators and job owners instead of being job seekers.
He entreated the youth in the Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Savannah and North East regions to take advantage of the Presidential Business Support Programme and scale up their businesses.
Dr Awal announced that an amount of GH¢10million would be disbursed to young entrepreneurs in Northern Ghana next year, in line with government’s effort to build the capacity of young business owners.
Referring to next year’s general elections, the Minister advised the youth to eschew violence and divisiveness and rather unite behind President Akufo-Addo and the New Patriotic Party government, for sustained development of the country.
“Reject politicians who preach violence and use chieftaincy as a divisive mechanism,” he added.
Dr Awal said the election was about development, access to education, health, potable drinking water and, therefore, urged the people of Northern Ghana to leverage the relative peace in the area for accelerated development.
The Northern Regional Minister, Mr Salifu Saeed, on his part admonished, the beneficiaries to use the money to expand their businesses in order to become self employed.
He stated that the government was committed to empower the youth in the country to contribute to national development.
Mr John Kumah stated that the assistance was intended to help boost the economy hence the urgent need for the beneficiaries to remain focused on their businesses.
He mentioned that over 60,000 jobs have been created in the country under the programme.
Alhaji Amass Ibrahim, Chairman of Small Dealers Association, commended President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for the assistance adding that the support would contribute to poverty in the north in particular and the country as a whole.
FROM YAKUBU ABDUL MAJEED, TAMALE
