National Service Secretariat in collaboration with Dalex Finance has organized youth Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Technology workshop to tackle the high unemployment rate as part of Africa vision 2025 to produce entrepreneurs and innovators in the continent.

Speakers from the MIT-Ghana Regional Entrepreneurs Accelerated Programme (REAP), Africa Harvard Study Group and scientists from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and Harvard University encouraged teaming youth to venture into entrepreneurship.

Speaking at the event,  Acting Executive Director of the Scheme, Mustapha Ussif urged Ghanaians to consider entrepreneurship as better option of securing themselves jobs and better livelihoods.

“The youth of Ghana and Africa represent our greatest resource, our greatest potential for solving our greatest development challenges and therefore delivering our future success. Therefore, a high unemployment rate is a national security threat,” he said

He added that “Research by Ghana Statistical Service reported in 2015, only 10% of personnel posted over the past years are able to secure jobs within the first year after service  and the remaining 90% manage to secure a job within 10 years after service.”

This, he said, has been his headache hence the collaboration with MIT-Ghana REAP other relevant agencies to end this cycle after each service year.

He said the Scheme will be introducing an Entrepreneurship & Innovation Deployment Model in 2018.

The model is structured to assist selected graduates with business ideas to create jobs through entrepreneurship and Innovation.

He reemphasized the President's vision to support the private sector especially young entrepreneurs to grow.

"Those who set up businesses must succeed for them to create wealth and employ more people.This is the surest way to turn our beloved country's fortunes around and the Scheme owns the country a responsibility by creating opportunities for the youth to enable them to create wealth for themselves and employ their colleagues. This approach will go a long way to reduce the high unemployment among the youth," he said.

The other speakers were, Emmanuel Akyeampong (Director of the Center for African Studies at Harvard University), Ed Lazowska (Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a fellow of American Academy of Arts and Science), Robert Short among others who spoke at the event.

The CEO of Dalex Finance thanked MIT-Ghana Regional Entrepreneurs Accelerated Programme (REAP) and The Africa Harvard Study Group for making time to the event to share ideas and expertise to help solve the unemployment issues facing Ghanaian youths and Africa.