Yesterday, President Akufo-Addo presented a cash prize of GH¢700,000, and also made a personal donation of GH¢30,000, to the overall winner of the Season Three of the Presidential Pitch.
Apart from the accumulated GH¢100,000 money, the GH¢70,000, which is a grant, the overall winner, Douglas Akoglo, Chief Executive Officer of SheaCoalZoyanna Enterprise, also benefits froma fully funded work-study programme outside Ghana.
Ten people were selected by judges after months of incubation to pitch for the overall prize, otherwise the lesser ones.
The other nine winners received between GH¢30,000 and GH¢45,000 each, all of which are grants.
The Presidential Pitch, organised yearly since 2018 by the Ministry of Business Development,honours young men and women entrepreneurs, between the ages of eighteen to thirty-five, who have defied the odds to venture into business and create jobs for Ghanaians.
In his address, President Akufo-Addo expressed happiness that the youth have had the desire to enter entrepreneurship.
As a result, the President said he sees clearly, a bright future for entrepreneurship in the country in the young men and women, when given the necessary support.
“That is why I am happy that under Seasons One and Two of the Presidential Pitch, 460 direct and many more indirect jobs have been created, with majority of these jobs in rural communities. “In particular, I want to single out the Chief Executive Officer of Kawa Moka, Ms. Emi-bethQuantson, and the CEO of Everyday Chicken, Ms. YaaAsare, who have, together, created, in all, 232 jobs,” the President said.
The President continued” “All these cash prizes are grants, not loans. This is a demonstration of governments’ commitment to build an ecosystem that fosters opportunity and innovation-driven youth entrepreneurship. The Presidential Pitch winners will continue to receive mentorship, coaching, and business advisory services over the next three years, free of charge.”
He gave the assurance that the government would continue to help fashion a supportive environment to enhance entrepreneurship and enterprise development.
“My confidence in the sheer energy and can-do spirit of the Ghanaian makes me believe that, in you, the contestants I have met today, the future of the Ghanaian private sector is extremely promising,” he stressed.
The President said that under another flagship initiative of the Ministry of Business Development, the Presidential Business Support Programme (PBSP) Window (3), 26,000 young entrepreneurs are currently being trained across the country to build their capacity and enhance their competitiveness.
According to him, the number of persons in start-ups and small businesses who have been trained, since 2018, under the Presidential Business Support Programme, is 45,000. 5,000 of those trained this year, President Akufo-Addo added, will be funded to scale-up their businesses, thereby bringing the total of start-ups and small businesses, which have been provided with funding since 2018, to 9,350.
The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), President Akufo-Addo assured, will continue to serve as the primary vehicle for providing integrated national support for start-ups and small business, focusing on the provision of business development services, business incubators, and funding for youth-owned businesses.
The post Winner of Presidential Pitch Season 3 bags GH¢100k appeared first on The Chronicle Online.
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