The Mastercard Foundation in partnership with the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) Business In A Box (BizBox) Project has benefitted more than 200 young Ghanaians in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta region.
The four-year Project is aimed at creating dignified and fulfilling jobs for 250,000 young people in Ghana, with 70 per cent being women and 10 per cent Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) by 2027.
Madam Rica Rwigamba, Country Director for the Mastercard Foundation in Ghana during the A2E Graduation and Distribution of Start-Up kits to the beneficiaries in Hohoe, said the ceremony was a milestone for the beneficiaries since it proved their hard work, perseverance and resilience.
She said the skills acquired would positively affect them, their families, communities and the country at large.
“We at the Mastercard Foundation believed that the skills you have acquired and the tools you will receive today will help you to pave the way to success as entrepreneurs.”
Madam Rwigamba said the Foundation envisaged a world where everyone regardless of where they began from, should be given and have the opportunity to learn and prosper.
She said the Foundation was also committed to fostering an inclusive and sustainable development in Africa.
Madam Rwigamba said in Ghana, the Mastercard Foundation had a goal to enable three million young people with 70 per cent women access dignified and fulfilling work by 2030.
She said the skills the beneficiaries acquired and the start-up kits they received were tools but the true measure of their success would stem from their creativity and hard work.
Madam Rwigamba told them that though challenges would arise they should remember that they had what it took to succeed.
She expressed gratitude to partners and trainers for their support which had empowered hundreds of young Ghanaians to break free from the cycle of unemployment and embrace the path of entrepreneurship.
The Project was anchored on five pillars namely; Youth Skills Development, Access to Market, Access to Start-up Kits, Youth Social Networks and Institutional Strengthening, Policy, and Regulatory Support.
Mr. Seth K. Klutse, of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) called on the beneficiaries to make good use of the tools they received since it would benefit them for a lifetime while admonishing them not to sell them.
Togbe Vule V, Representative of the Gbi Traditional Area Paramount Chief, commended the Foundation and the GEA for such a Project which he described as one of a kind.
Some beneficiaries expressed gratitude and pledged that they would put the skills and knowledge gained as well as the tools received into good use.
GNA
