Mr. Edward Effah, Managing Director Of Fidelity Bank, has urged Ghanaians to recognise entrepreneurship as the bedrock towards the country's development. “For Ghana to develop we need to recognise that entrepreneurs would be the engine of growth. We need to move to a different level where we recognize that entrepreneurs can create the millions of jobs, they can help government revenue by paying taxes. Growth and development in Ghana would come from entrepreneurs,” he stated. Mr. Effah made the statements when the finalists for the Masters Category of the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award from Ghana returned from Nigeria where they represented the country. He said the awards were an encouragement to other entrepreneurs, adding that it showed that if they put their minds to it and aim to achieve a world class institution, they could do it and called on government to support entrepreneurs in that regard. The finalists were Mr. Prince Kofi Amoabeng, Chief Executive Officer of UT Bank, Mr. Edward Effah and Mr. Joseph Siaw Agyepong, CEO of Zoomlion Ghana limited. Mr. Amoabeng said they were proud to have represented Ghana at the event, which was very competitive. He said although they did not win in the masters’ category in which they were the finalists, they were respected and their stories were unique and appreciated. Mr. Agyepong noted that being an entrepreneur was not an easy task and that it was God that had brought them this far. He stated that Ghana had the people with talents and rich experience to develop the nation and emphasized the need for government to recognize such people and to support them. The finalists thanked Ernst and Young for introducing the award to Ghana for the first time. Mr. Joe Tackie, a judge at the event, said the criteria for selection of the finalists were based on the entrepreneurial spirits of the finalists, how they started their businesses and the impact on the society at large, their personal integrity, innovation and their financial performance. He said the finalists demonstrated that there were companies in Ghana that could be considered as global and could compete with any other company anywhere in the world. “We are also proud of them because to encourage entrepreneurship in any country, one of the things we have to focus on is to expose the successful ones that we have. They are our role model, they are those other business people look up to” he said. Madam Esther A.N. Cobbah, CEO of Strategic Communications Africa Limited, also a judge at the event, described Ghanaians as very enterprising and that in spite of the challenges they met the criteria for the awards. “If you want to reach the top, if want to be a role model, if you want what you are doing to be recognized, don’t just do it, but do it very well” she stated. Mr. Aigboje–Aig-Imoukhuede, CEO of Access Bank Nigeria, won the overall award in the Master Entrepreneur category while Onajite Okoloko, Group CEO and Group MD of Notore Chemicals Industries Limited won the award in the emerging category. The West Africa Regional winner of the Master Entrepreneur category will be inducted into the Entrepreneur Hall of Fame in Monte Carlo in 2012.