Rosy Fynn, the Country Head of Mastercard Foundation has said the foundation is committed to supporting relentless young Ghanaian Entrepreneurs and providing access to market to expand for their businesses to thrive.
Rosy Fynn stated this at the Ghana Economic Forum 2022 in Accra yesterday, with the theme “Achieving Robust and Resilient Economy through Technology, Finance, Investment, Trade and Entrepreneurship.”
According to her, the youth have big ambitions and are willing to put in hard work to create a shared prosperous future for themselves, their peers and community.
“Everywhere we look, we see youth agency at work and their collective effort is driving transformation in many sectors including agriculture,” she said.
The Country Head said the entrepreneurial dexterity of the youth cut across agriculture, technology, and creative arts.
“Young Ghanaian women and men are innovative. Even in the most challenging of situations, they find ways to thrive. They are building, venturing into new businesses, and driving innovative solutions to address some of the biggest challenges impeding growth in micro, small and medium enterprises,” Rosy Fynn, stated.
She said her outfit was relentless in supporting the youth to build their own businesses to address the growing unemployment in the country.
“At the Mastercard Foundation, we remain committed to getting behind the ambitions of young Ghanaians and creating pathways to dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for them,” she said.
Fynn stated that the Young Africa Works strategy of the Mastercard Foundation aimed to provide 3 million young women and men with access to opportunities for respectable work by the year 2030, by intensifying efforts in the agricultural sector and examining opportunities in emerging economic sectors.
“We believe that by doing this, and working alongside our partners, government, the private sector, and young people, we will unlock the full potential of young people to contribute to building back our economy and creating work opportunities for themselves and others,” Rosy Fynn said.
Earlier in a panel discussion on agribusiness, the panellists, the Chief Executive Officer of Oceans Mall Company Limited, Caroline Pomeyie and the Chief Executive Officer of Maku Food and Company Trading Limited, Caroline Amanor, indicated that high cost of capital was a challenge to SMEs and Start-Ups in the country.
They called for tax incentives and holidays for SMEs and Start-Ups for their businesses to thrive.
They also called for waivers on import duties for SMEs and Start-Ups to support the growth of their businesses.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Business and Financial Times, Dr Godwin Acquaye, in his remarks, said, the Youth Economic Forum was part of the 3-day Business and Financial Times Ghana Economic Forum.
He said the objective of dedicating a day solely for the youth, was to better amplify the opinions/voices of the youth and give impetus to their ideas.
