Accra: Mr Sheriff Ghali, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, has called on the Government to actively involve young entrepreneurs in the development of startup programmes aimed at the youth. He emphasized that such engagement would help tailor these programmes to address the specific needs and challenges faced by young entrepreneurs, ensuring their sustainability across different governmental administrations.
According to Ghana News Agency, Mr Ghali made these remarks during an interview at the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research-Science and Technology Policy Research Institute's (CSIR) Policy Dialogue on MSMEs programmes and their impacts in Ghana. The dialogue is part of a broader CSIR-STEPRI project titled 'Distributional Impact of Innovation and SME Support in Ghana', which aims to assess the effectiveness of MSMEs programmes over the years. This initiative also seeks to facilitate discussions between policymakers, researchers, programme implementers, and entrepreneurs to enhance existing MSME support frameworks.
Mr Ghali pointed out that despite the innovative nature of government programmes, their sustainability often falters due to the lack of involvement from the private sector. He highlighted that when the private sector is not engaged, they do not feel a sense of ownership or inclusion in these initiatives. He expressed optimism that the current government would adopt a different approach by fully integrating the private sector as co-creators in the design and execution of its 'Adwumawura' programme.
Dr Justina Onumah, a Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-STEPRI, echoed this sentiment by stating that the policy dialogue offered an essential platform to evaluate the impact of innovation support programmes on sustainable enterprise development. She stressed the need for future policies to be evidence-based, tailored to the specific socio-economic landscape of Ghana, and adaptable to the diverse challenges faced by Ghanaian entrepreneurs. Dr Onumah also advocated for the establishment of an MSME profiling system to better align policy interventions with the unique needs and interests of beneficiaries.
