Accra, April 10, GNA - Mr Mats Karlsson, World Bank country Director has said that true empowerment comes jobs that are created indigenously by the indigenes.

He said local entrepreneurs needed to take advantage of the improving microeconomic environment of the country to develop their business by improving upon their skills to source for financial assistance.

Mr Karlsson said these when he opened a six-day capacity building workshop for one hundred and eleven small and medium scale entrepreneurs in Accra on Sunday.

The participants were individuals, SMEs and civil society organisations with innovative ideas to take up the challenge posed by the theme: Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Job.

Mr Karlsson said the project has the capacity to reduce poverty, create jobs and advance development in the country. The workshop organised by the Ghana Development Marketplace (GDM) is being sponsored by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, EMPRETEC, the Trust Bank, Ecobank, GSMF, Africa Project Development Facility, IFC, NBSSI, World Bank and others is to train the participants, who were short listed from 1005 entrants from across the country, who presented proposal of an original business idea. Mr Kofi Tsikata, World Bank official said the workshop was to train the participants to be able to fine-tune their proposals for appraisal, of which 50 will be selected and out of which the eventual winners will be selected.

He said an eminent jury will select the best 20 -40 proposals and the awards will be from 50 million cedis to 300 million cedis, depending on the project.

He said the main event of the final selection will take place in June 2005 at the Great Hall of the University of Ghana, Legon. Mr Tsikata said those participants whose project proposals would not win any awards would be kept in a databank and collaborate with others banks for their assistance.