Policy Paper on the Youstart Programme

What is YouStart?

YouStart is a program that aims to support young entrepreneurs with access to capital, market access, training and technical skills, compliance support and quality assurance, and business development support services that enable them to start, build, and grow. their business.

This program is aimed at young people between the ages of 18 and 40 who have fantastic business ideas and viable businesses. YouStart wants to help these people develop, grow and expand their business and create jobs in the economy.

The government through the YouStart program intends to build an innovative nation by providing some of the key enablers that make business successful. These include:

• Training and capacity building
• Access to finance
• Access to market, technology and procurement opportunities
• Business development support services
• Compliance and quality assurance support services

The programme is benchmarked against similar successful models in the world including the Small Business Administration (SBA) in the US and the British Business Bank, UK.

Through this programme, the Government intends to commit up to GHS 10 billion over the next 3 years to create at least one million jobs in the economy. This will be achieved through the use of a portion of the proceeds from the electronic transaction tax (e-Levy) and other funding sources such as the World Bank, IFC, MasterCard, selected IFPs and other DFIs.

Components of YouStart 

YouStart is anchored on three programmes: thus;

1. District Entrepreneurship,
2. Commercial and
3. Grace in tackling the unemployment situation in Ghana.

District Entrepreneurship Programme (DEP)

• The District Entrepreneurship Programme (DEP) is designed to support urban and rural nascent entrepreneurs and existing micro businesses.
• The young entrepreneurs will be provided with technical and financial support to enable them start-up and grow their businesses.
• The following Government agencies; Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (NEIP) will be responsible for the successful implementation of the DEP.
• Other partners i.e., National Youth Authority, Ghana TVET Service and Nation Builders Corps (NABCO) will support the implementing agencies roll-out components of the DEP successfully.

NABCO YouStart Initiative

NABCO will support NABCO trainees who want to become entrepreneurs to grow/promote their business. This program is intended for founders under the age of 40 in the following categories, college graduates, high school graduates, diploma holders/professionals, and other youth not specifically defined above.

YouStart Commercial Programme

• The Commercial Programme is designed to support medium-sized businesses with technical and financial support services in order scale up existing businesses and will be spearheaded by banks and other Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).
• The Government of Ghana will contribute a percentage of the programme funds to the commercial programme and the PFIs will be required to match Government’s funds based on an agreed ratio and a designed standardised product.
• The standardised loan products (white label products) will be sold by the banks at a pre-agreed interest rate using their own internal sales mechanisms.
• Government together with the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) will standardise the loan product, the application process and requirements for the loan.

YouStart Grace Programme

• The YouStart Grace programme will be spearheaded by Faith Based Organisations (FBOs) across the country.
• This programme focuses on providing technical skills training and business development support services to individuals and businesses to enable them to become employable and to scale-up their businesses.
• The programme targets unemployed youth especially graduates (i.e., SHS and University graduates), vulnerable and needy persons, rural entrepreneurs and micro businesses, especially women owned businesses.

The District Entrepreneurship Program will be implemented by two government agencies, namely the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP). These institutions will be supported by TVET Service Ghana, NYA and the NABCO Secretariat.

The Ghana Association of Bankers (GAB) will also coordinate the business programme. To ensure the proper management of the program, there will be a committee of 10 members from the ministries, chaired by the Minister of Finance. Members of the Ministries of the Interior

This committee includes the Minister of Trade and Industry, Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Labor and Employment, Minister of Information, Minister of Food and Agriculture, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Arts, Minister of Communications and Arts, Minister of Local Government . , Administration for Decentralization and Rural Development and General Director of the National Development Planning Commission.

YouStart Management

There is a 13-member Tethering YouStart Committee chaired by the Vice Minister of Finance. Other members of the steering committee include agency heads from the Ghana Entrepreneurship Agency (GEA), the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Program (NEIP), the Ghana Bankers Association (GAB), the National Youth Foundation, the Ghana TVET Service, Ghana, the NABCO Secretariat and a representative from Faith Based Organizations (FBO).

The Internal Audit function of the Ministry of Finance is performing audit and verification functions in the program.

YouStart is expected to reduce unemployment in Ghana and boost creativity in Ghana. YouStart is estimated to create up to 1 million jobs over the next three years and expand business to benefit from the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Composition of the YouStart Secretariat

The YouStart Secretariat will be hosted at the Ministry of Finance, Financial Sector Division and headed by the Director, FSD. The staff of the secretariat shall comprise officers from the Ministry of Finance and will consist of the following key personnel:

• An Independent Head
• Chief Economics Officer or Analogous Grade – Head of Coordination
• Principal Economics Officer or Analogous Grade – Head of Technical Support Service
• Technical Officers, Advisors and Consultants as needed

YouStart, being part of the broader Ghana Cares ObaatanPa programme, will have its Secretariat working closely with the GhanaCares Secretariat.

The Internal Audit function of the Ministry for Finance will perform audit and assurance roles
for the programme.

YouStart Channel of Communication 

For the YouStart program to be successful, a marketing and communication strategy must be implemented. As this program is a government initiative, the ministry will collaborate with other government ministries, agencies and IFPs to provide, manage and maintain the necessary media presence to obtain the required care in the community.

Download the full YouStart policy paper here