Business Development Minister, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has revealed that processes are underway to introduce a Startup Bill that will create a conducive environment for small businesses in the country.

Interacting with the media after the third Ghana Business Awards Night on Friday, he noted that the Bill when passed into law will exempt startup businesses from paying taxes for up to eight years.

According to him, this will not only boost the growth of small businesses, it will make entrepreneurship more attractive to the youth, thereby, broadening the nation’s economy.

“We have formed a committee working on the Startup Bill and within two months, it will be ready for the cabinet's consideration and Parliamentary approval.

“When this bill is passed it means you can start a business, and for eight to 10 years you will not pay taxes. This is to encourage young people to put back the profit and expand the business,” he explained.

The Sector Minister highlighted that although about 80 per cent of Ghana’s economy is made up of small businesses, conditions for startups are not the best, hence, most of them die out before they can even sprout.

He stressed that this is what the Startup Bill seeks to correct adding that “startups are the basics to create jobs and wealth in this country.”

“We want to help start young people grow and this Startup Bill will be able to help them [youth] own their businesses and not look up to government for job; because we all know that the jobs are not in the public sector, they are in the private sector.

“So we [government] want to create an enabling environment in the private sector that can make it attractive to young people for them to engage in,” he emphasised.

Speaking on government’s plan for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) amidst the Covid-19 pandemic, Dr Awal disclosed SMEs mobile clinic will be introduced to visit and educate all operators across the country.

He explained that the mobile clinic will have business advisors who will build the capacity of startup operators in marketing, pitching, branding and financial management in order for them to resuscitate their businesses and create jobs for others.

“In the first three months, we are targeting 1 million SMEs to build their capacity so that they can get back to business and create jobs for the young people. We intend to generate about ¢10 billion from this mobile clinics.

“So we want to urge everybody that when the SME mobile clinic comes, please patronise them,” he said.