Stakeholders in the startup ecosystem with support from the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) are developing a bill to streamline funding support to startups and entrepreneurs in the country.

The move forms part of the quest by the NEIP to bring all business support programmes targeting the youth under one umbrella, through a national entrepreneurship policy.

Chief Executive Officer of NEIP, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, disclosed this in an engagement with Enterprise Bureau, as part of its startup dialogue.

According to him, entrepreneurship has transitioned to a new level in the country, hence the need to ensure all the necessary government support to make it the solution provider for the increasing unemployment situation.

He is therefore upbeat about the prospect of the act, saying it will help transform the ecosystem.

“If you look at the Startup Index in Africa, Kenya, Egypt and South Africa, they are quite ahead of Ghana in terms of how much they receive in their ecosystem. This is due to the kind of building blocks and foundations laid. “

“In Ghana too, we’re not sleeping. As I speak, the Startup Act is being developed by the stakeholders and once passed by Parliament and receive a presidential assent, we will implement what is in the act to help stimulate growth in the sector”, he mentioned

“Typically, they need funding support, market access, regulatory support and exemptions, among others. So tfrom the government side, there will be a policy framework available to drive the entrepreneurship growth that we’re talking about” he added.

The engagement with Enterprise Bureau is aimed at giving a platform to agency heads and renowned institutional advocates to engage upcoming and existing entrepreneurs on the journeys of entrepreneurship in Africa and to explore the linkages.

Startup Dialogue is an Initiative by Enterprise Bureau to provide data and intelligence to the Startup Ecosystem in Africa to enable stakeholders to make informed decisions.