The 2023 budget statement and economic strategy still seek to create jobs through the full-scale implementation of the YouStart program, notwithstanding a freeze on public sector employment.
The government’s piloted YouStart Program has already benefited 70 young entrepreneurs under the age of 40 with a sponsorship worth GH1.98 million.
85 young business owners participated in the pilot phase, which was put into action in February 2022.
YouStart relies heavily on bank backing in order to purposefully expand start-ups and help the government achieve its goal of creating one million employment.
This is done to support youth-led small and medium-sized businesses in the food processing, ICT, poultry, and agro-processing industries.
It seeks to create a society that is prosperous, inclusive, sustainable, empowered, and resilient (WISER), with young people at its center and more assured of their role in the world.
Under the Ghana COVID-19 Alleviation and Revitalisation of Enterprises Support (CARES) initiative, YouStart aims to reduce barriers for young entrepreneurs as part of measures to alleviate the high youth unemployment rate in the nation.
The government plans to invest over GH10 billion through YouStart over the next three years to help the economy create at least a million jobs.
The program is a component of Ghana Cares’ $100 billion “ObaatanPa” program, which was introduced by the government in November 2020 in an effort to lessen the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, put the nation back on a path of robust growth, and build a stronger, more resilient, and transformed economy.
The young unemployment rate has reached an all-time high of 13.4%, according to the 2021 Population and Housing Census.
The YouStart initiative is a means by which the government plans to give money and technical assistance to young people (18 to 40 years old) and youth-led businesses to help them launch, develop, and expand their own businesses.
The Small Business Administration (SBA) in the United States and the British Business Bank in the United Kingdom are two examples of similar successful models against which the program is compared.
Young people between the ages of 18 and 40 who have completed at least BECE and who are willing to launch a business as well as school dropouts who are already operating one are eligible to apply.
A GH1 billion entrepreneurship fund has already been launched, and the YouStart Ghana Jobs and Skills application platform is now open to collect applications from potential beneficiaries.
YouStart program participants are eligible for beginning packages and soft loans ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 Ghana cedis.
The program also offers regular, low-interest loan packages ranging from 100,000 to 500,000 Ghana cedis.
The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) and 13 top banks have inked a contract with the government for the YouStart Commercial Programme with a total commitment of GH10 billion.
The participating financial institution will be required to match the government’s funds based on a specified ratio and a planned standardized product. The government will contribute a portion of the program’s funding to the commercial program.
Businesses applying for loans through the scheme won’t need to put up any collateral, and the program’s beneficiaries will be responsible for recovery.
Existing firms that were started by people between the ages of 18 and 40 are eligible to participate in the program as long as they can demonstrate that 50% of their workforce is in this age range and that their employees are paying into the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT).
To give eligible recipients access to help, the government hopes to launch the Commercial component of the YouStart Programme by the end of the year.
To boost domestic manufacture and delivery of components and replacement parts for the nation’s automobile industry, a new manufacturing program module is being developed.
The policy to create jobs for young people will be introduced and put into practice by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in 2023.
Young people with business ideas or those who have already launched their own companies will receive training from experts at the National Banking College, Chartered Institute of Bankers, and other institutions through the commercial module of the YouStart program.
The program’s objective is to build a society that is Wealthy, Inclusive, Sustainable, Empowered, and Resilient (WISER), and its implementing organizations are the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP).
The National Youth Authority, Ghana Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Service, and Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) would all provide assistance to them during the implementation.