Edmond Kombat, CEO of Oyster Agribusiness and an NDC loyalist, has stated that the future NDC administration, led by former President John Mahama, plans to leverage the Edwuma Wura initiative to tap into the skills of the populace.
During the launch of the NDC Youth Manifesto, Mr. Kombat announced that the Edwuma Wura initiative will enable young people to launch 10,000 new ventures every year, fostering a culture of entrepreneurship and innovation among the youth.
He pointed out that with each business employing at least 50 people, the program’s impact will be substantial, resulting in the creation of around 500,000 jobs by the end of 2025, just one year after its implementation.
“And over a 4-year period, it will go to 2,000,000. In order to do that, President Mahama is going to establish a national apprenticeship program in each district where he’s going to set up business services”.
“He’s going to have a lot of people to teach young businesses, to learn how to do bookkeeping, to learn how to manage, to learn how to run a business, to learn how to file g GRA, forms that are needed so that they can be mentored to build businesses. And then from raw materials, they can move to a value addition”.
Edmond Kombat
He added that one of the significant challenges young people encounter when starting businesses is being rejected by banks due to a perceived lack of creditworthiness, hindering their access to essential funding.
As such, Mr. Kombat announced that John Mahama plans to establish a national database of businesses, which will be integrated with the national credit system, enabling young entrepreneurs to access much-needed capital and overcome financing hurdles.
He disclosed that the former President intends to establish a dedicated youth microcredit facility, seeded with GH₵750,000,000, to bridge the financing gap and empower young people to start and grow their businesses.
The NDC stalwart emphasized that the GH₵750,000,000 fund will be provided as a grant, offering young entrepreneurs easy access to the capital they need to launch and grow their businesses.
He also revealed that the incoming NDC administration intends to set up youth-focused innovation and industrial hubs in all districts across the country, driving economic growth and job creation.
Mahama’s Initiatives To Benefit Marginalized Communities
Furthermore, Edmond Kombat stated that President Mahama’s initiatives will have a far-reaching impact, benefiting marginalized communities and underprivileged individuals across the country.
Mr. Kombat emphasized that a major priority for President Mahama is to bolster the agricultural sector, with plans to create approximately 2.5 million job opportunities. “And these are the facts”, he added.
He further observed that the NDC has recognized a significant challenge facing young people who venture into agriculture: accessing land, due to the complexities and limitations of Ghana’s land ownership system.
As such, he revealed that President Mahama intends to harness the authority of government to partner with chiefs, acquire and demarcate lands, and create agricultural zones across the country, empowering youth with the chance to cultivate and farm the land.
“So we will no longer go through the hassle of accessing lands because the government will do that. And on top of that, you have farm services companies who will be in each of the districts. Their duty will be to help us get improved seeds, to help us get fertilizer, to help us get access to the market for the produce, and to make sure that it is linked to value addition”.
“So there’s going to be an agro-processing component on that. So for example, if you’re a young person here and you sign up to that program and you cultivate soya beans of 1,000 acres, soya beans of 1,000 acres, which improves seeds, you can get about 3 tons per acre. …This year, the soya bean price per ton was GH₵ 9,000. So if you do 1,000 acres, you can employ 100 people. And within 120 days, you can make 1,500,000 dollars from that”.
Edmond Kombat
As such, Mr. Kombat encouraged all Ghanaian youth to rise up, join the campaign trail, and cast their votes for President Mahama on December 7th, emphasizing the importance of their participation in shaping the country’s future.
He emphatically stated that John Dramani Mahama possesses the requisite leadership expertise and vision to steer Ghana’s development forward, making him the most trustworthy and reliable choice to shepherd the nation’s progress.
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