The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs, Mr. Sheriff Ghali, has called on the government to actively involve the private sector, particularly young entrepreneurs, in the design and implementation of youth startup programmes.
Mr. Ghali stressed that involving entrepreneurs as co-creators will ensure that startup support schemes are better aligned with real-world needs and are sustainable beyond political cycles.
“The government has introduced many brilliant initiatives, but without deep private sector engagement, these programmes often fail to last, young entrepreneurs must be part of the process, not just beneficiaries,” he said.
Mr. Ghali urged the government to take a different approach with its new “Adwumawura” initiative by engaging the private sector from the start.
Also Dr. Justina Onumah, a Senior Research Scientist at CSIR-STEPRI, highlighted the importance of grounding future MSME policies in data and evidence.
She called for improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms and proposed the creation of an MSME profiling system to better match beneficiaries with suitable support.
“With MSMEs at the centre of Ghana’s economic transformation, our policies must reflect the diversity of challenges and opportunities within the sector,” she added.
