Nine banks partner government to support YouStart project

A consortium of nine banks is collaborating with the government of Ghana on the infamous YouStart Project to provide credit to existing youth-led companies and in the process, create one million jobs in the next three years.

Under the commercial programme of the YouStart initiative, the banks will provide support for existing youth-led businesses with between GHc100,000.00 working capital and GHc500,000.00 for those in need of capital expenditure to scale up their operations.

Mr. John Awuah, President of the Ghana Association of Bankers, while addressing the media, disclosed the participating banks.

They are: GCB Bank PLC, Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG), Access Bank, Absa Bank, FBN Bank, ADB, Fidelity Bank, Ecobank and Bank of Africa. He disclosed that the capital will be at interest rate not more than 10 per cent.

The President of GAB, meanwhile, is confident that with time, more banks would come on board. He noted that the community of banks was aware of the difficulties faced by entrepreneurs in accessing credit, for which reason the scheme is aimed at making lending conditions less stringent to enable businesses to scale up and create jobs.

“The banking sector is convinced that the Government wants to build an entrepreneurial nation through youth entrepreneurship. We have decided that this is good, and we want to grow with the private sector.

“Our advantage is that we are already dealing with the private sector, so we have a fair knowledge of all that goes into making a business work. We are confident that with the well-crafted conditions we are offering and our ammunition of funding, we can make fund accessibility easier to enable young entrepreneurs to launch into the deep” he said.

Listing the conditions for accessing the scheme, Mr. Awuah asserted that the project is opened to existing businesses whose prime movers are youths between ages 18 and 40.  He added that entrepreneurs aged above 40 would have to prove that their employees are SSNIT contributors, and that 50 per cent of their employees are between 18 and 40. They would also have to show that their businesses, when supported, will be profitable and create youth employment.

“YouStart will not fund any business that is into buying and selling. We don’t want to create import-dependent enterprises.”

Mr. Awuah explained that through the commercial module of the YouStart programme, young people with business ideas or those who had started businesses would be trained by professionals at the Banking College, Chartered Institute of Bankers and other institutions.

Beneficiaries who successfully graduate from the training will be assisted to obtain product certification and quality assurance for their products and services, to ensure that their businesses conform to standards, regulations, and the laws of their industry.

“Entrepreneurs will be trained, supported with business development services, and funded over the next three years.”

On how interested applicants can access the fund, Mr Awuah noted that a website would soon be launched. “All a potential applicant has to do is fill out the form. Successful applicants can access funding within a short period after applying.”

The YouStart commercial programme is expected to take off later this month of June.