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Mr Franklin Owusu-Karikari (middle), Project Director, NEIP, addressing the press conference. With him are Ms Abigail Swad Laryea (left), Deputy CEO, NEIP, and Ms Appiah Boakye (right), Director, INVEST.
Mr Franklin Owusu-Karikari (middle), Project Director, NEIP, addressing the press conference. With him are Ms Abigail Swad Laryea (left), Deputy CEO, NEIP, and Ms Appiah Boakye (right), Director, INVEST.

Competition to empower women in TVET launched

A new business competition to empower young women in the male-dominated technical and vocational education and training (TVET) trades has been launched in Accra.

Dubbed “Women in TVET Business Competition”, the initiative will provide technical and financial support to more than 100 women entrepreneurs to expand their operations and create jobs.

As a result, organisers of the competition are inviting interested applicants to access the online or hard copy application form between August 31 and September 25, this year.

The competition, which is expected to be held annually for the next five years, is targeting women operating in three cities in Ghana, including Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi and Kumasi. Intersted applicants should be between 18 and 35 years.

It is spearheaded by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) in collaboration with the World University Service of Canada (WUSC).

Competition launch

Launching the competition at a press conference in Accra on August 31, the Project Director of NEIP, Mr Franklin Owusu-Karikari, said through access to business development services, participants would have the opportunity to grow their business acumen and enterprises in an enabling environment.

That, he said, would help the beneficiaries to get exposed to major private sector and industry players in the TVET sector as part of efforts to revamp mainstream TVET.

He said the winners would be supported with technical and financial assistance including a $5,000 Canadian dollars support package.

“The beneficiaries will also go through six months’ training in order to help them improve on their knowledge to build a strong business that can create jobs,” he said.

Operating sectors

Mr Owusu-Karikari stated that applicants should operate in sectors such as manufacturing engineering (welding and fabrication, mechanical engineering and auto-mechanics), information communication and technology (ICT), extractives, construction and energy.

“In this period of the COVID-19 pandemic when many people have lost their jobs and livelihoods, I urge women to take advantage of this initiative to bring their ideas to life. It is high time we supported women entrepreneurs in the TVET trades. “With support from the INVEST project, NEIP invites applications from women TVET graduates, start-ups and established business owners interested in incubating or accelerating their TVET businesses within male-dominated trades to apply,” he said.

Sustainable opportunities

The Director of INVEST, a project by WUSC, Ms Appiah Boakye, said the INVEST project sought to explore sustainable opportunities for young women to curate TVET businesses and become competitive in the marketplace.

She said NEIP offered aspiring and current entrepreneurs access to a network of accredited service providers and resources set within an initiative solely focused on the advancement of youth through entrepreneurship.

According to him, WUSC, in collaboration with NEIP, has identified entrepreneurship in the TVET sector as a strong pathway towards creating opportunities and empowerment for women.

Support for women

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NEIP, Ms Abigail Swad Laryea, said the project was being launched for the benefit of urban poor women in three cities in the country.

“I urge all Ghanaian women in the three urban cities including Accra, Sekondi-Takoradi and Kumasi to take advantage of opportunities under this programme to improve their businesses,” she added.

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