The start of the Business in a Box (BizBox) project and other initiatives under the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) are expected to help create some one million jobs, Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia has said.
He said in the last seven years, a total of 2.1 million jobs were created – 1.2 million in the public sector and 975,000 in the private sector, according to data available at the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
It is on the back of this that he expressed confidence in the success of the latest project,
He said the BizBox project, a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, is valued at US$55 million and is expected to add one million jobs.
BizBox builds on the successful Young Africa Works – Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment programme (YEEP), implemented between 2020 and 2022.
It aims to empower 250,000 individuals and support 125,000 with start-up kits, as well as provide market access support to 50,000 businesses and regulatory support to 40,000 businesses.
“This is an unprecedented initiative that we believe will create and sustain decent jobs for the Ghanaian youth, leaving no one behind,” the Vice President at a ‘national kick-off and sensitization’ event held in Accra.
The programme seeks to provide entrepreneurs with the tools, knowledge and support they need to start, develop and grow successful businesses. In addition, it focuses on expanding business formalization, product certification and access to start-up kits, especially in the agricultural and agri-adjacent sectors.
The primary focus groups of this intervention are the youth (aged 15 to 35), persons with disabilities (PWDs), vulnerable females, majority women-owned businesses and female youth-led businesses.
Dr. Bawumia praised Mastercard Foundation’s vision of enabling 30 million young people in Africa, especially young women, to access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030, adding that it aligns seamlessly with the government’s goal to address youth unemployment.
“The BizBox initiative will leverage the strengths and experiences of the GEA and further strengthen the government’s commitment to supporting young entrepreneurs, advance the implementation of the National MSMEs and Entrepreneurship Policy and amplify the impact of the government’s One District One Factory Enable Youth Initiative,” he stated.
He added that BizBox will validate commitment to building on proven successes, aligning harmoniously with GEA’s overarching mandate to develop and promote the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) sector.
BizBox is designed to be implemented under five main pillars. This includes youth skills development, access to markets, access to startup kits, and youth social networks. The rest are institutional strengthening, policy and regulatory support.
It will focus on 50 percent agriculture and agri-business, 30 percent tourism and creative industry businesses, 10 percent building and construction and 10 percent others, which include hairdressing, wood and joinery, electronics and electrical, among others.
The Chief Executive of GEA, Kosi Yankah-Ayeh, on her part, emphasised the importance of BizBox in promoting a shift to an entrepreneurial mindset.
“We recognise that this shift is not merely about starting businesses but about cultivating a mindset that sees challenges as opportunities, failure as a stepping stone to success and innovation as the driving force behind progress,” Mrs. Yankah-Ayeh noted.
She reiterated that BizBox will not only create businesses but ignite a transformation in the lives of thousands of aspiring entrepreneurs.
“The BizBox project seeks to expand our reach and impact and demonstrate our commitment to creating sustainable employment pathways for participants,” she said.
The Minister of Trade and Industry, Kobina Tahir Hammond, expressed confidence that BizBox will address some of the soft barriers that confront women, youth and persons with disabilities from venturing into high growth-oriented business activities.
He said: “We also hope that in the course of the project, a strong entrepreneurial culture will be imbued in the beneficiaries to aspire to higher heights, enabling some to plug into the raw material and inputs supply chains as well as subcontract networks of medium to large scale manufacturing enterprises”.
