Mr. Mahama Ayariga, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, on Monday advised Ghanaian youth not to always look up to the government to provide jobs for them. “Entrepreneurs are the drivers of the economy,” he said, and urged the youth to create jobs for themselves instead of waiting to be employed. Mr. Ayariga said this when he launched the Global Entrepreneurship Week (GEW) 2010 in Accra on the theme: “Entrepreneurship = Job Creation = Economic Growth.” The Deputy Minister said the government was aware of the challenges that entrepreneurs faced in terms of access to finance and other obstacles in their attempt to create jobs for themselves. He, however, said there were financing facilities such as the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) and the Micro-Finance and Small Loan Centre (MASLOC) that had been established with the hope that enterprises would have access to funding. Mr. Stephen Gyasi-Kwaw, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Youth Enhancement International (YEI), said it was important that young people believed in themselves and strived to make their ideas happen. He called on government to support the promotion of entrepreneurship among the youth. “People are our number one natural resource that will never run out. We need to create an environment that allows enterprising behaviour to flourish in Ghana,” he said. Mr. Gyasi-Kwaw said the main objective of the global entrepreneurship week was to promote entrepreneurship by inspiring young people everywhere to embrace innovation, imagination and creativity as well as help them to turn their ideas into reality. This, he said, would be done by engaging them through a series of signature events and workshops that would provide them with the skills, networks and values they needed to turn their innovative ideas into sustainable enterprises. Dr. Erica Bennett, Ambassador of the AU Diaspora Africa Forum, commended government for supporting the GEW initiative. She stressed that young people must create jobs for themselves, instead of looking for jobs, by identifying what they enjoyed doing and that which came naturally to them. Dr. Bennett urged Ghanaian youth to help build the country by becoming entrepreneurs. “You are not a Ghanaian because you are born in Ghana; you are a Ghanaian when Ghana is born in you.” The GEW 2010 would take place from the November 15-21. Signature events for the week include “Mentoring Madness” where successful entrepreneurs would share their experiences with aspiring entrepreneurs and “SpeedNetwork the Globe”, which would bring together entrepreneurs, policy makers, international development agencies and other stakeholders to share ideas. There would also be and a Business Start-Up Conference, which would bring together start-ups and aspiring entrepreneurs to equip them with the knowledge and skills needed to create and grow a world class business. Source: GNA