National Democratic Congress flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama, says he intends to expand the Digital Centre concept across all regions of the country.

According to him, like the Accra Digital Centre, these centres will provide an affordable temporary office space for young entrepreneurs as they grow their businesses.

He said these digital centres will save young enterprises the hefty rent advances that tend to drain their capital.

Speaking at an Accra Speaks event dubbed 'An Evening with John Dramani Mahama' he said: “Rent is one of the things that torpedoes businesses small enterprises. For a small shop, you can be asked to pay rent advance in goodwill of almost five years.

“And by the time you’re finished paying that it has completely eaten up all your capital. And that’s why it is important for us to create products that allow for credit to look at the whole business plan and feasibility including the rent that one has to pay.”

John Mahama continued: “We also need to set up places where young startups can start to work and that’s why one of the reasons we created the Accra Digital Centre and other business spaces so that young people who just need a small office space to start their business, a few desks in there can get them at affordable rents so that they start their businesses.

“As their businesses pick up they are able to get their own premises and be able to move so we’ll expand that example where you can have a small cubicle, two cubicles, yourself and your small staff, you’ll have your computers and things, you’ll work from there and as you grow you can move out. And this will be done regionally across all the regions.”

He stated that these digital centres will be well resourced with digital equipment to aid young entrepreneurs work easily and faster.

“We said we’re going to expand that idea of the digital centre to other areas. You’ll have service shops when you come, the computers are there, the wifi links are all there and so you rent it and work from there until you’re able to get yourself established and then you can move out and find a place to continue your business,” the NDC flagbearer stated.