Under the Harnessing Agricultural Productivity and Prosperity for Youth (HAPPY) programme, 106 micro-businesses have been awarded a total of $236,460.83 as start-up capital.
The HAPPY Programme is a four-year initiative led by Agri-Impact, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, TechnoServe and other governmental agencies to create 326,000 dignified job opportunities for young people across Ghana.
The programme focuses on four core value chains – poultry, rice, soybean, and tomato – and prioritises support for young women and persons with disabilities.
The training beneficiaries, who are the first cohort under the programme, received the cheque of the start-up capital during a graduation ceremony after a six-week entrepreneurship skills, knowledge, and competencies to navigate the agricultural sector in Kumasi.
The second cohort of 122 new micro-businesses set to begin their journey through the programme where beneficiaries would be supported through grants and access market linkages was outdoored.
In addition, three agri-tech micro-businesses also completed the programme, highlighting the initiative’s strong emphasis on innovation and the adoption of agricultural technologies.
The two-day event was held on the theme “Pathways to Prosperity; Highlighting the Impact of Incubation Training and Grant Support.”
Nana Kofi Riverson, Head of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning at Agri-Impact, said the support would go a long way to help these businesses in the poultry, rice, soya and tomato value chains.
Youth unemployment, he acknowledged, was very high in Ghana and it was therefore important sustainable measures including the HAPPY Program was instituted to bring relief to the people.
Mr Frank Obiora, Programmes Director, TechnoServe, said partners of the HAPPY Programme remained committed to building a supportive ecosystem that nurtured entrepreneurship, encouraged innovation, and promoted job creation.
He believed the beneficiaries would serve as drivers of change, emphasising that partners’ contributions would shape Ghana’s agricultural landscape.
Source: Access Agric
