National Youth Authority Partners With Stakeholders To Train Young Entrepreneurs And SME Owners In Ningo-Prampram

Stakeholders in the business environment has been advised to form partnerships in order to operate on a larger scale such as acquiring loans, expanding production and exporting their products through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), the call also admonished players in the same businesses to trust and be honest with each other in pulling their financial resources together to achieve greater heights in their businesses.

This came to light during a 3 day training workshop for small scale business owners and young entrepreneurs, about 60 of them were trained to among other measures take advantage of institutional assistance and various digital platforms to help boost their businesses.

The 3 day programme was in collaboration with the National Youth Authority, the GIZ Trade Hub, and other facilitators from the industry, the program started on 23rd and ended on 25th at the City Escape Hotel.

Participants were drawn from 3 main districts namely Ningo Prampram, Kpone Katamanso, and Ga West. Resource persons were drawn from the business sector with sole aim to train participants on the principles of becoming successful businessmen and women Operating within Ghana and outside Ghana.

The District Chief Executive of Ningo Prampram , Hon. Al Latiff Tetteh Amanor in a brief statement said individual business start ups are bedrocks of building a financially sound society and every individual should endeavour to own one, even though it is not easy initially but with consistency and perseverance it pays of , he admonished participants to register their businesses to help them acquire assistance from the government, he noted that government is putting things in place such as a secure and peaceful place to make the environment viable for businesses to grow.

He reiterated that his office is constantly dealing with security related issues such as land guard activities in his jurisdiction, he was aware that such an issue could cause businesses not to thrive in the District, he noted the issue has come to its minimum, he urged small scale businesses to feel free to operate in the District so the district can grow.

The CEO of Naton Olives Consult, Mr. Kwakye Owusu Achiaw a facilitator for the day said the whole idea of the AfCFTA is to augment businesses, exporting through AfCFTA also comes with some benefits such as scrapping of some tariffs, and delays that gets cancelled, he added.

He urged participants to follow principles in order to enhance sales, become exporters and trade within the African Sub Region through the AfCFTA; the need to register the businesses, have an exportable product, register with national regulatory authorities such as the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) and the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), conduct market research in destination markets, have a buyer among other issues.

The Regional Director of the NYA Mattias Kofi Blay said it is difficult to access loans to expand businesses in the country with high loan rates as compared to competitors in other countries in the Sub Region, it was important to join resources to have a better financial stand. He encouraged them to link up with officers from the Business Advisory Centres which is present in all districts.

The District Director Mr. Ernest Atta Boateng was happy about the programme, it was an eye opener, exposing participants to the dos and dont’s of businesses. the training received will help players in the district and beyond, he added.

Topics handled included Intra Africa Trade in context of AfCFTA- overview, objectives, taking advantage of the AfCFTA -Perspectives of young entrepreneurs, E- Commerce and Online business models, E- Business strategy and innovation, Cyber security Issues and other important contemporary technologies that can boost their businesses.

Participants were elated about the 3 day training they have received various topics, that are key to advance businesses in this modern world, they are of the view that it will go a long way to inspire confidence in what they are doing and excel in it.

ISD