Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enterprise Support, Ms. Helga Boadi, has urged the youth to develop their own skills set rather than rely solely on what they learn from the universities.

She said considering the fact that the youth stand to benefit more from their skills, they have to take practical steps to upgrade their skills.

Ms. Boadi was speaking on Joy FM’s Super Morning Show on the impact of the Youth Enterprise Support (YES) since it was set up by the government to help young and innovative Ghanaian youth turn great ideas into businesses.

Touching on the quality of proposals sent by potential beneficiaries, Ms. Boadi said there is cause for worry.

She said: “Some of these applicants have skills challenges in the areas of basic bookkeeping skills, management practices, and financial projections”.

To be able to access the fund and grow one’s business, she said, it is important for the young entrepreneur to learn financial management.

On his part, Entrepreneur and business consultant, Obed Danquah said it is important for the youth to make use of the knowledge they acquire from the universities.

He says this will help them to make “reasonably informed” decisions about areas to spend their efforts on so that they can maximize their time effectively.

Delving into the work of YES, Mr. Danquah says the concept of giving interest-free money to the youth in the country by the government is not sustainable.

“If you want to develop entrepreneurs and sustain it, it is not good to give them interest-free loans”, he said adding the programme has to be redesigned.

The Youth Enterprise Support (YES) fund aims at raising young Ghanaian entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 to 35 years.

Shortlisted applicants are taken through business clinics with the aim of fine-tuning their business ideas before providing them with the necessary financial support.

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