Stakeholders have been implored to make inputs into the processes to enact an Act of Parliament, which will support entrepreneurship development and job creation in Ghana.
This will help provide the legal backing for business progression and promotion of start-ups for wealth creation and economic growth, in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Eight.
“It is our hope that the Government of Ghana and the Parliament, will see the need for this Act, to help curb the perennial youth unemployment and under-employment canker facing the country,” a communique issued by the Ghana Start-up Bill Technical Working Committee stated.
The communique was jointly signed by Mr. Sherif Ghali, the Coordinator, Mr Solomon Adjei, the Communications Officer, and Mr. Ernest Agyenim-Boateng, a Member, and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Kumasi.
It said the passage of the Ghana Start-up Bill was the way to go in order to set up an incentive framework for the development of start-ups to promote creativity, innovation and use of new technologies in achieving decent jobs for the youth.
This would help ensure strong-added value and competitiveness in entrepreneurship development at the national, regional and district levels.
Currently, the advocacy for the passage of the Bill is spearheaded by the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, Accra Digital Centre, and Ghana Start-up Network.
Others are; the Ghana Hubs Network, Private Enterprise Federation, Konrad Adeneur Foundation, and SNV Netherlands Development Organization in Ghana.
The communique, issued to coincide with the commemoration of the International Youth Day, advised the youth to also be innovative and enterprising in not only starting businesses but for businesses “that are sustainable and make use of waste.”
The International Youth Day is celebrated on August 12, every year.
“Transforming Food Systems – Youth Innovations for Human and Planetary Health”, is the theme for this year’s celebration.
It said with support from the SNV Ghana under its European Union-funded ‘Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn Project), the Technical Working Committee on the Bill would continue to engage stakeholders to fine-tune the Bill before its passage into law.
Highlighting the theme for the Youth Day celebration, the communique said it was imperative that the crucial role of the youth was recognized during the various stages of business, starting with the creation and growth of businesses.
It said this year’s theme “is strategically calling on the youth to come up with creative and innovative ideas which will be transformed into businesses to solve developmental needs and to save our planet from climate warming.”