By Elizabeth PUNSU
President John Dramani Maham has unveilled a major youth employment and entrepreneurship initiative, ‘Adwumawura’, designed to stimulate sustainable business development and job creation among youth in the country.
The policy is anchored on six thematic pillars – promoting inclusivity, building a robust national system for ideation and acceleration, facilitating access to funding, integrating technology into business development, coordinating access to partnerships, markets and investment opportunities and establishing effective monitoring and evaluation systems – and poised to transform the landscape of youth enterprise development.
Through ‘Adwumawura’, the country hopes to significantly reduce youth unemployment and meaningfully contribute to broader economic development goals.
Launching the policy, President Mahama emphasised that ‘Edwumawura’ is a platform for the youth to create, build and lead.
He described the project as a monumental step toward securing the future of Ghana by translating youthful ambition and innovation into viable, thriving businesses.
“Young men and women have bright ideas and dreams – and those dreams deserve more than applause, they deserve action, opportunity and committed support,” President Mahama said.
He reiterated his pledge to prioritise youth welfare, economic empowerment and development through strategic interventions like ‘Adwumawura’.
The programme aims to create at least 10,000 youth-owned businesses every year over the next four years, targetting a broad and inclusive group of beneficiaries including females in male-dominated trades, persons with disabilities, unemployed and underemployed youth, out-of-school youth and those from rural and vulnerable communities, as well as young people transitioning from illegal mining (galamsey) activities.
Key features of the ‘Adwumawura’ initiative include: business development training to equip youth with essential entrepreneurial skills; access to funding to help young entrepreneurs overcome capital constraints; coaching and mentorship from successful young entrepreneurs; provision of technological support and access to necessary equipment and machinery; and assistance in market access and sales facilitation.
According to the president, businesses selected for support will be chosen through a neutral, competitive process based on their scalability, sustainability and job creation potential.
He mentioned that unlike previous initiatives that lacked continuity, the ‘Adwumawura’ programme has been fully funded with allocations secured in the 2025 national budget through the Ministry of Finance.
In addition, the president announced an annual Adwumawura Trade Fair and Exhibition to be instituted that showcases the products, services, creativity and innovations of programme beneficiaries, further boosting market access and visibility.
President Mahama noted that ‘Adwumawura’ is not merely a policy initiative “but a declaration of faith in the extraordinary potential of the Ghanaian youth and a commitment to nurturing their ambitions to drive national progress”.
