Young entrepreneurs have been urged to aim at growing businesses into bigger entities which can create more employment avenues for others.

That, according to the Minister of Business Development, Dr. Mohammed Awal, could be done if young entrepreneurs overcame the fear of business failure and rose above their mistakes. Dr. Awal gave the advice at the opening of a summit and exhibition for nominees of the 2018 Forty Under 40 Awards slated for October 13, 2018 in Accra.

He said for young entrepreneurs to succeed in their fields of operation, they must put in place good governance structures in their businesses, be disciplined and time conscious. ‘You must not use the company’s money for your personal expenses, pay yourself, be disciplined and know that timing is important’, the minister said.

AWARDS

The Forty Under 40 Awards event is an annual celebration of the best young business owners in the country. They are organized by Xodus Communications, the company which also organizes the Ghana Oil & Gas Awards, the Ghana Auto Awards, and the Ghana Manufacturing Awards.

The first edition last year honoured 40 entrepreneurs. Nominations for this year’s awards were opened on July 3, 2018 and closed on August 17, 2018. Categories include agriculture and processing, education, manufacturing, insurance, real estate development, music and entertainment among others.

KEY

Dr Awal said the government was committed to supporting young entrepreneurs as they held the key to move the economy into the next phase of development. He added that the government was implementing an entrepreneurial strategy focused on skills development and resources provision, as a result of which it had plans to set up a dedicated fund for young entrepreneurs.

‘The Ministry of Finance will set up the dedicated fund for small and medium-scale enterprises by next year to give out soft loans. We also want to support with the accounting, branding and networking services of small and medium businesses to ensure that they do not collapse,’ Dr Awal said.

ORGANISERS

The Event Director of the awards scheme, Mr Richard Abbey Jnr, said the objective was to identify, honour and celebrate a cross-section of the country’s most influential and accomplished young business leaders under the age of 40 years from industry.

Those to be rewarded, he said, comprised young business operators and innovators who were making an impact in the field.