Some beneficiaries who were trained in Straw Basket Weaving in the Upper East Region have received Micro Credit Funds to boost their production.An amount of GHȻ600,000 was made available to beneficiaries at a ceremony in the regional capital Bolgatanga.The training is an initiative of CraftPro Ghana Limited, a privately owned company in collaboration with the National Youth Employment Programme (NYEP).The project was rolled out in three (3) stages which include training, setup and micro credit facility.Two thousand beneficiaries mostly women were initially trained under the program with an additional one thousand joining later.Each beneficiary was taken through six months of specialised training in Straw Basket Weaving, and entrepreneurial skills development.Henry Kangah, Director of Craft Pro Ghana, said the Micro Credit Facility was in fulfillment of supporting the straw basket weavers financially and creating sustainable jobs for the youth.He said Craft Pro in partnership with its implementation partners, ACI Financial Services are ready to increase by 100 per cent the initial amount disbursed to the beneficiaries only if the beneficiaries make productive use of money.According to Mr. Kangah, his office will organize further training for the beneficiaries in Financial Management and Entrepreneurial skills as part of plans to expand their market value.Mr. Kangah indicated that, the baskets produced by beneficiaries would be purchased directly by Craft Pro at the going market price at the various production centres.This he said would relieve the weavers the burden of having to travel to the market before selling their produce and also guarantee them ready market at all times.He added “this is meant to ensure sustainability and job security of the beneficiaries”.According to him, Craft Pro was seeking to train over 10,000 youth in the Upper East Region, and therefore, appealed to the government and other development partners to continue to support the project.The Upper East Regional Coordinator of the NYEP, Kopanamo James Kojo was hopeful that the project would be one of the strategies towards reducing poverty in the region.He commended the management of CRAFTPRO and appealed for more support for the beneficiaries who were mainly bread winners for their families.The Chief Operations Officer of ACI Financial Services Eric Asamadu encouraged the beneficiaries to be money conscious in order to make the necessary financial gains.Later a delegation from CRAFTPRO called on the Deputy Upper East Regional Minister at her residence. Mrs. Lucy Awuni, endorsed the project and expressed hope that the Straw Basket Weaving project will empower the youth especially women with Technical and Vocational skills.Craft Pro Limited is a privately owned company that is into the export and sale of African craft, musical instruments and agricultural products. As part of its social responsibility and the need to provide real and sustainable jobs for Ghanaian youth, the company undertakes vocation youth training and development in various trades and vocations (with specialization in handicraft carving, Basket weaving, bead making, agriculture and pottery).