Nine youth receive financial support to start business
Nine young people have received a total of GH¢48,240 from the Youth Construction Enterprise Fund (YCEF), an initiative designed by Global Communities, to start their businesses.
The beneficiaries, whose business plans were identified as feasible, viable and sustainable, were selected to undertake between three and six months’ apprenticeship training in metal fabrication, masonry, carpentry, interior decoration, fibre glass aluminium, draughtsmanship among other things.
Advertisement
Speaking at the fourth edition of the YCEF in Accra, a development specialist with the Youth Inclusive Entrepreneurial Development Initiative for Employment(YIEDIE), Mrs Alice Winnimi Tuoho, indicated that the fund was to provide the opportunity for the youth to build viable and sustainable businesses, particularly in the construction sector.
Process
Mrs Tuoho explained that the grant from YCEF was competitive because 120 youth applied for the fund.
The applicants, she said, went through several evaluation processes including a desk review of their business proposal, a presentation made to expert judges and a site visit to their proposed shop location.
“Out of 120 applicants, nine youth have been awarded grants. Priority was given to business proposals that would enable the recipient to soon employ additional youth,” she noted.
She added that all YCEF beneficiaries would also receive business development services from AABN, a YIEDIE consortium partner.
She pointed out that the beneficiaries received different amounts based on their business proposals, stressing that they were required to provide a financial report on their funds to Global Communities on a quarterly basis.
Advice
A Service Agreement and Compliance Specialist with YIEDIE, Mr Kyei Boateng advised beneficiaries to abide by the ethics of their various fields of endeavour.
Sharing similar thoughts, an official with the Republic Bank, Mrs Evelyn Osei Twum urged them to show good leadership qualities, while remaining serviceable to their clients.
She urged them to cultivate the habit of saving their profits because that was one of the surest ways of making their businesses thrive.
An official from AABN, Mr William Quaye, asked the recipients of the fund to utilise the training they had received to contribute towards national development.