The Managing Director (MD) of Ecobank Ghana, Daniel Sackey has advised government to ensure that the Youstart programme benefit young entrepreneurs, ready to expand their operations in the country.

The YouStart initiative under the Ghana CARES Obatanpa programme, was introduced by government to ease constraints for existing and aspiring young entrepreneurs, through financial support.

Ecobank is one of the banks that has committed some funds to the initiative.

Speaking to Joy Business after the bank’s Annual General Meeting, Mr. Sackey stressed that the programme must be properly monitored to make it profitable.

He assured that the Ecobank will work with the Ministry of Finance to ensure that the initiative becomes a success.

“We are committed to allocating resources to support programmes such as the Youstart programme that is being championed by government. Our view is that this should not just be a social programme, it should be a profitable programme so it can be sustainable in the long term and benefit a large number of youth to enable them start and own their businesses”, he said.

Mr. Sackey observed that government must evaluate the programme as profitable venture and not a social intervention to send the right signals to the beneficiaries.

He maintained that such a move will ensure that the funds invested in the programme yield positive results to refinance the loans.

“We at Ecobank share the views of all stakeholders that the growing level of youth unemployment is a clear and pressing danger that we need to deal with as a society,” he said, adding that the ultimate goal is to reduce the unemployment rate.