Statement By President Akufo-Addo to Commemorate the Celebration of Global Entrepreneurship Month - Novermber, 2018

By Rex Mainoo

November 2018 marks the celebration of the Global Entrepreneurship Month, as Ghana joins over 170 countries all over the world in this celebration. Fostering Entrepreneurship and Innovation to advance job-creation and economic prosperity is at the heart of the work undertaken by my administration.

Entrepreneurship is a vital component of economic growth and development, and has been globally considered and embraced as one of the most important drivers of economic growth.

Government is committed to creating a conducive, business-friendly environment, which will result in a thriving private sector, and the creation of wealth and jobs for the teeming masses of Ghanaian youth.

Consequently, over the past 22 months, Government has been working to improve the business environment by reducing the overall cost of doing business and improving the macroeconomic space to reduce significantly the cost of borrowing.

Ghana has made progress in the ease of doing business, according to the World Bank Group 2019 Doing Business Report. The country improved its ranking to 114 out of 190 countries, up six places from 120 in the 2018 Doing Business Report.

According to the World Bank "It is encouraging to see that progress is being made to improve the business environment to promote investments by both domestic and foreign firms, so necessary to spur growth, provide jobs and further reduce poverty".

Government is diligently pursuing other measures that will go a long way towards the digitization and formalization of the economy to accelerate growth and improve domestic revenue mobilization.

These include:

- the implementation of the digital address system with area codes;

- introduction of the National Identification Card - the Ghana Card;

- mobile inter-operability within the banking and financial sector;

- the paperless port clearing operations at the ports; and

- the e-registration of businesses at the Registrar-General's Department.

I am determined that we change the economic conditions in our country for the better, so that young people, who constitute our future citizens, see our country as a place of opportunity, instead of a place from which they flee at the peril of their lives.

We need to do all within our power to create an entrepreneurial climate, to enable our young people to come up with creative ideas that can be developed into businesses. Entrepreneurship makes our young people creative, it puts them to work, it gives them dignity, and, most importantly, it makes our nation strong and great.

Those who set up businesses must succeed for them to create wealth and employ more people. This is the best way to turn our beloved country fortunes around, and I salute all our hard working and creative entrepreneurs for their contribution to the economic development of our country. Entrepreneurs all over the world are problem-solvers and they work to shape our future. Our own indigenous businesses make us proud and preserve our dignity as a people.

The Ministry of Business Development through its implementing agency, the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme, and its private sector partners, is pursuing a number of initiatives to enhance the entrepreneurship ecosystem. These include building the capacity of young entrepreneurs and providing business advisory services and financial assistance to women in business.

I call upon all Ghanaians, the media, civil society organizations, academia, and the public in general, to commemorate this month by supporting the growth and development of our entrepreneurs, especially our women, which is the focus of this year's celebration in Ghana.

Together let's unite to advance job-creation, unleash innovation, and fight poverty through the power of entrepreneurship.

May God bless us all and our homeland Ghana, and make her great and strong.

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