Chief Executive of the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, Sherif Ghali, has disclosed that the Chamber is looking forward to see stimulated productivity in the country ahead of the budget reading slated for tomorrow, November 17, 2021.

According to him, it is imperative for the finance minister to factor in sustainable ways of resolving some crucial challenges when it comes to issues of productivity in the country. Mr Ghali noted that the interruption suffered by global “supply chain” which has affected the country as a result of the pandemic must be something the budget will address.

“Among a host of things, we are looking at a budget that will also stimulate productivity in our country. We all see the disruption in the production chain worldwide. So, how can Ghana step up? How do we support our domestic producers to fill in the gap?”
Mr Sherif Ghali

On the issue of unemployment, Mr Ghali revealed that he is expecting to see how government is going to “retain the NABCO trainees” as the Chamber made some various inputs in that regard. Intervention measures captured in the mid-year budget such as the creation of 1 million jobs, Mr Ghali expressed, is something that the youth desire to hear strategies and “policies that they are going to use to create these one million jobs in this very budget”.

Youth entrepreneurship, Mr Ghali posited, has become a “core of discussions in Ghana”. According to him, the Chamber is anticipating that tomorrow the finance minister will touch on the Youth Banc that is supposed to set a financial support system for young entrepreneurs that are starting business to be able to access cheap and affordable credit.

Aside the Youth Banc which he believes the finance minister will address, Mr Ghali reckoned that young entrepreneurs desired to see more interventions with respect to how government will support them and help build their capacity.

Focusing on the SME sector

Elaborating on his expectations for the 2022 budget, Mr Ghali noted that a critical focus and “input” on the SMEs sector is needed. He explained that it is high time government got to deliberate about the SMEs because it’s the “core of our economic development”.

“We do not need to be doing this cosmetic service to the SME sector. We need to be deliberate. How do we assess the SMEs [and] how do we support them to access affordable credit? How are we going to support them to access technical support [and] capacity building? Some of the taxes that are imposed on SMEs, how are we going to harmonize them if not take them out…?”
Mr Sherif Ghali

Largely, Mr Ghali indicated that the Chamber has expectations which include “tax waivers” for young entrepreneurs and start-ups in Ghana. This, he explained, is due to the devastation caused by the COVID-19 which has “ravaged our economy”.

“So, we want to see a budget that will ensure that the economy remains robust and stable from the micro-economic values, from inflation, taxes, the currency, duties and many others. Especially a budget that will reflect the current realities of our economy”.
Mr Sherif Ghali