Deliberate approach required to raise Ghanaian entrepreneurs

Ghanaian businessman and philanthropist, Alhaji Seidu Agongo, has called for a deliberate approach towards raising the country’s next crop of entrepreneurs to lead its economic transformation.

He said the proposed approach needs to be seen in the national perspective rather than with the usual political and individual lenses, adding that the benefits of entrepreneurship transcended parochial interests as they served as an avenue for individuals to contribute to national development.

In an article sighted by GhanaWeb, Alhaji Seidu Agongo pointed out that entrepreneurship, when well harnessed along with investments in productive ventures, can solve a lot of the nation’s teething problems for growth and ingenuity.

“Our family system is still strong and that increases the interdependency ratio. When an entrepreneur’s initiative employs someone, the likelihood is that the income to be earned would be used to take care of an average of three people – beyond the person’s nuclear family members.”

Ghana’s economy is driven largely by the small and medium enterprise sector, which experts say accounts for almost 70 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product.

Alhaji Agongo, who runs a consortium of businesses, explained that entrepreneurs can also serve as a source of relief to the government as they are able to create employment avenues and make contributions towards domestic revenue generation.

“Ultimately, the more entrepreneurs a country has, the lesser the number of people who depend on the government for subsidies to cater for children’s education, utility bills and health care – the very demands that put extreme pressures on public finances and leads to strong debt overhangs. This is why entrepreneurship is regarded as the cornerstones of national self-reliance.”

He further highlighted that for Ghana to achieve its self-reliance, entrepreneurship would have to receive special attention through efforts that aim to raise and sustain the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“To do that we must prioritise rural/community entrepreneurship, sow and nurture the spirit of business ownership in the youth and purge ourselves of the political business cycle that emanates from the petty tagging of entrepreneurs with political parties.”