The World Bank has pledged its support to the implementation of the Government’s GHS10 billion YouStart programme, aimed at building Ghana as an entrepreneurial nation.

The support, which would come in the form of financial and technical assistance, is to ensure that the goal of creating about a million jobs for the youth in three years is achieved.

To this end, Mr Patrick Mullen, Programme Lead, Human Development, at the World Bank, announced that the Bank is currently designing a comprehensive youth-centred programme in line with the objectives of the YouStart initiative and support its successful implementation.

Mr. Mullen described the YouStart as a laudable initiative. He said the Government providing funding and technical support to the people between the ages of 18 and 40 and youth-led businesses to assist them start, build and grow their enterprises will build Ghana as an entrepreneurial nation.

“Currently, the World Bank is working with the Government on a new operation that would support some aspects of the YouStart programme. The Bank is already supporting the implementation of projects that aim at addressing and removing some of the binding constraints of youth employment.”
Mr Patrick Mullen

This includes the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project, which is to help the Government to better respond to the need to create more decent jobs for the youth, while upgrading their skills to meet the demands of the current labour market.

The Bank Group’s Ghana Country Partnership Framework

Mr Mullen noted that the Bank Group’s Ghana Country Partnership Framework (2022 to 2026) emphasised support to create more quality jobs for youth through skills and entrepreneurial development, access to finance, investment climate reform and quality infrastructure.

As such, the establishment of the Ghana Youth Voices Chapter to represent and include the youth to share ideas will be part of the implementation of the Bank’s projects in education, employment and climate change in a win-win situation.

Mr Daniel Owusu, the Chapter Lead, Ghana Youth Voices, indicated that the project would enable the youth to play critical parts in the implementation of the Bank’s support programmes with Ghana.

“There’s a cry that the youth are often not part of the Government’s project implementation. So, Youth Voices will make the youth know the various programmes of the World Bank Group related to Ghana and be part of its implementation.

“We’re going to map out every youth organisation in Ghana and create a platform where people get to understand what the Bank does, which will help them in their career path, research work.”
Mr Daniel Owusu

The Youth Voices programme uses a hyper-localised approach, composed of youth volunteers who are led by a country-based World Bank staff to provide a youth-focused angle and analytical work to World Bank lending operations. It integrates the youths’ contributions and addressing the challenges they specifically face, which is to help World Bank interventions become more youth-informed.