COMPASSION International Ghana (CIGH), a Christian Non-Governmental Organisation with the vision of ‘releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name,” has graduated 115 entrepreneurs after undergoing an intensive one-week National Vocational Skills and Business Start-up Conference.
After successful completion of the one-week training, the young entrepreneurs are set to receive funding from the NGO as part of measures to stabilize their socio-economic status.
The Conference organised by CIGH and facilitated by the African Entrepreneurship School (AES) took the young entrepreneurs through an intensive one-week boot camp instilling in them world-class business ideas, growth, and customer satisfaction strategies.
As part of the business start-up conference, facilitators from the AES took the young entrepreneurs through various forms of exercises including games and group discussions amidst the pitching of ideas. All the activities aimed at internalizing the principles of better business management and entrepreneurial skills among the young entrepreneurs. They were awarded certificates during the graduation ceremony held for participants at the weekend to help them step up.
The 115 beneficiaries were young people who had been trained by Compassion International and equipped with the needed vocational and technical skill sets but lacked the required capital to start their businesses. Upon the approval of a proposal tendered by the CIGH with its partners, it decided to take the young entrepreneurs through the final one-week training after business capital would be released to them to start their business ventures.
The CIGH had earlier equipped the youthful group with the requisite skills and knowledge in various forms of vocational and technical skills after completing junior and senior high school education and developing interests in vocational and technical skills acquisition. These skills included hairdressing, fashion designing, electrical, graphic designing, interior decorating, makeup, and cosmetology. The NGO took the beneficiaries through the training when they completed their Junior High School and Senior High School and were willing to delve into space.
The Youth Development Specialist at CIGH, Madam Mercy Mawusi-Koukoyi said the objective of the NGO was to take children from poverty and provide them with adequate care and security, which has informed the organisation’s commitment to the training. She said the CIGH supported young people to go through school or help them learn vocational skills, adding that, there were over 2, 000 such children in tertiary institutions with support from the NGO. Madam Mawusi-Koukuyi said the NGO regularly provided health screening for the trainees to ensure they were healthy for the course.
Madam Mawusi-Kuokoyi said, “You have learnt how to generate business ideas, characteristics of entrepreneurs, promotion, legal requirements for businesses, digital literacy, financial literacy, access to capital among others and I believe this graduation allows you to reflect on all you have learnt.” She also urged them to be God-fearing, hard-working, and exhibit their talents to the world.
Madam Mawusi-Kuokoyi said participants would be given start-up capital and three-month coaching and mentoring to help them become grounded in their chose career. This would position to employ other youth who unemployed at the moment to help reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
A business consultant with the African Entrepreneurship School, Mr Joshua Mensah, said the School’s mandate was to train students to become productive and resourceful. The school, he said also has the mandate of helping to formalize the informal sector of the Ghanaian economy. He said the training aided the participants to be innovative and develop their business ideas, get access to finance, and build networks for a better future.
He said, “We believe that they are the future leaders to change Ghana and make the country more productive and since our mandate is to formalise the informal sector.” He said the youthful entrepreneurial group had been given all the needed skills to start their business that has the potential of transforming the economy of Ghana.
The President and Co-Founder of Makola Foundation, Madam Comfort Oduro-Nyarko, expressed joy about the youthfulness of the participants and said she was hopeful they would succeed after the motivation and empowerment.
She commended them for the foresight of the participants to pursue a career in the vocational and technical skills sector. She urged them to take all the risks in business and be resilient to overcome the challenges for growth, applying all the skills and knowledge they have acquired during the weeklong Skills and Business Conference.
