To build the capacity of Ghanaian youth to create jobs for themselves, some private sector organizations have shown interest to partner the Kosmos Innovation Centre (KIC) to explore talents of the youth and better position them in this regard.
As a subsidiary of Kosmos Energy Ghana (KEG), the partnership programme is aimed at developing their capacity, and to coach and nurture more Ghanaian youth into taking up entrepreneurship roles as well as enabling beneficiaries have better living conditions.
This was revealed by a member of the Advisory Council of KEG, Ms. Abena Amoah during the KIC 2018 AgriTech Challenge Awards held in Accra.
Kosmos has made available a business supporting package of US$500,000 to some Ghanaian young agricultural entrepreneurs to develop commercial solutions to challenges within the agricultural sector.
Speaking at the event on the theme Innovative Corporate Social Initiatives: Developing Entrepreneurs to Transform Ghana’s Economy, Ms. Amoah said innovation is a key aspect to transformation and further implored.
“Government and the private sector must engage the youth and equip them to be problem-solving, opportunity-enhancing entrepreneurs. KIC has risen to this challenge. We are using innovation as a center-piece to groom entrepreneurs to solve many problems facing not just the country, but Africa” she noted.
Statistics
In 2017, Data from the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana, Legon revealed that only 10% of graduates found jobs in their first year of completing school.
It is anticipated that the numbers graduating from the tertiary institutions in the next few years are going to be several times more than the average 350,000 graduating currently.
This would further put burden on government and the economy so far as more graduates continue to be home without jobs.
This is basically one of the main reasons KIC deems it necessary to build capacity of young Ghanaians in entrepreneurship in order to better equip the youths in the area of start-ups which intend making them self-reliant and independent.
By Dundas Whigham
