Young entrepreneurs pitch ideas before investors
20 Selected young entrepreneurs from the Greater Accra Region have pitched their innovative business ideas before a panel of investors in a competitive bid to access the needed support to establish their start-up businesses.
Of the total, 10 participants who will emerge top will be supported with business development services, funding, provided access to market and participate in a National Pitch Competition (NPC).
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The Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) is an initiative of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Foundation which is under the Young Africa Works Project.
Opening the Greater Accra Final Pitch at an event in Accra, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, in a speech read on her behalf, stated that the ICE initiative was designed to bring out the innovativeness of young entrepreneurs in the country.
As the apex body of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana, he said it was the GEA’s core mandate to promote the creation of MSMEs and ensure their sustainability.
“Most importantly, we are to nurse and incubate fantastic business ideas that have the potential to address the problems of society and address the problem of unemployment in Ghana.
“It is only through these that Ghana can reposition itself on the track of growth after the devastating effects of the coronavirus (COVID-19) on the economy and businesses.
“Today, we are gathered for that purpose. In 2019, a partnership between GEA (formerly NBSSI) and the Mastercard Foundation gave birth to the Young Africa Works Project with three key Components: Apprenticeship to Entrepreneurship (A2E); Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE); and MSMLs Business Acceleration (MBA). Today's event falls under the ICE Component,” she said.
National Pitch Competition
The CEO stated that the 20 selected participants were to pitch their ideas in the presence of not only investors but management members of GEA, and other stakeholders.
“The best 10 will be selected for the National Pitch Competition.
“For emphasis, the top 10 business ideas should clearly demonstrate: innovation & creativity, Kaizen concepts, sustainability strategy, financial forecast, risk management plan and traction of business plan.
“It is our hope that this will contribute to sharpening the skills of participants in the area of marketing their ideas, make them more competitive in the business eco-system and connect them to potential investors,” she added.
Nurtured participants
The Greater Accra Regional Manager of the GEA, Ms Anthea Ohene, observed that the participants who were originally 500 young entrepreneurs have been nurtured for the business environment.
“The entrepreneurs who were originally 500 participants but were trimmed down through the stages to 20 have already been nurtured for the business environment and so beyond ICE initiative they can sell their ideas to investors to access the needed support.
“They have benefited from a training on bootcamp, business incubation, prototype and mentorship to improve their business ideas,” she said.
She added that the beneficiaries will also be linked to the relevant state agencies to enable them to smoothly establish their businesses.
