The Ministry of Trade and Industry has launched the “Enable Youth Initiative” to empower the youth to establish their own businesses and create employment under the One District- One Factory programme.
The initiative, under the Rural Enterprise Programme, with support from the International Fund for Agricultural Development and the African Development Bank, has enhanced the capacities of 3,200 young people to own and manage 58 established agro-processing factories in selected Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide.
The initiative intends to use the factories as a vehicle to create jobs for the youth, with each factory providing direct jobs to a minimum of 50 graduates in different capacities in the value chain from planation development, aggregation, processing, and marketing, among others.
Mr Alan Kyerematen, Minister of Trade and Industry, at the launch, said the Government was committed to reducing youth unemployment through the various initiatives they had enrolled in the Ministry.
He added that they were also equipping the youth to enable them grow the factories and employ other young people in the value chain.
He said the Ministry hoped to create 16,000 jobs indirectly through the initiative.
Mr Kyerematen said by the end of the second quarter in 2023 all the 58 factories would be fully functional and equipped.
He said the factories would be linked to the various Business Resource and Advisory Centers and Technology Solution Centres in the MMDAs for continued support to the factories.
Mr Bamie Tahir-Ahmed, a beneficiary from the Lambussie District in the Upper West Region, said his team of 50 young people would run a groundnut oil-processing factory.
Mr Tahir-Ahmed said so far they had undergone training and capacity building in entrepreneurship and business management and ready to start operations.
GNA