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Unfavourable business regulatory framework hindering entrepreneurial potential in Ghana – World Bank Consultant
Emmanual Awuni, a private sector consultant at the World Bank, says an unfavourable business regulatory framework is hindering entrepreneurial potential and deepening Ghana’s unemployment situation.
He said the existing regulatory framework and requirements from state agencies were a major obstacle to the realisation of the entrepreneurial potential of Ghanaian youth.
The unfavourable business regulatory framework, which includes business registration, was demotivating the youth from pursuing entrepreneurship, he said.
This challenge, he said, could worsen the unemployment situation in the country, as 3.87 percent of the population is currently unemployed.
He was speaking at the End Poverty Day Programme which was held at the World Bank office in Accra.
“We have seen an unfavourable business regulation framework in the country. We are looking at the entry and exit points for businesses. As a young person, you know that when you are starting a business and you want to register, it is sometimes difficult. To even exit the business has its own challenges,” he said.
Mr. Emmanual Awuni called for reforms in the regulatory framework and requirements to encourage youth to pursue entrepreneurship.
He said the World Bank (WB) aimed to eliminate the bottlenecks associated with the regulatory framework by engaging the relevant agencies to improve the regulatory quality in Ghana.
Thus, the WB had supported the Ministry of Trade and Industry to introduce business regulatory reforms to give agencies the push on how to improve regulatory governance and coordination to encourage entrepreneurship in the country.
The reforms, he said, will consequentially reduce unemployment in the country.
Mr. Awuni observed that many unemployed youths in the country lacked knowledge of career paths to pursue. He urged the stakeholders in labour and employment relations to welcome the idea of pre-employment services to reduce unemployment in the country.
He indicated that economic growth in the country had not been consistent with job creation.
He said major progress in terms of economic growth in the country was achieved in the extractive sector, and a significant number of those employed in the sector were expatriates. Therefore, the economic growth was not really creating the jobs needed to reduce the unemployment rate in the country.
Source: GNA
The Diaspora Affairs Office at the Office of the President has hosted a delegation of African diaspora women who are in Ghana ahead of a planned Presidential Conferment of Citizenship ceremony.
The Director of Diaspora Affairs, Kofi Okyere Darko, explained in a Facebook post that the visit was a gesture of appreciation by the delegation to the Government of Ghana for its continued efforts to reconnect Africans in the diaspora with their ancestral homeland.
He indicated that the ceremony, scheduled for next Monday, will officially grant Ghanaian citizenship to members of the delegation as part of the country’s broader engagement with the African diaspora.
The delegation was led by Erica Bennett, Founder of the Diaspora Africa Forum.
According to Mr Okyere Darko, her years of advocacy have played an important role in strengthening ties between Africa and people of African descent living abroad.
He noted that the group’s journey towards citizenship represents not only a legal process but also a cultural and spiritual return to their roots.
Also present at the meeting was Natalie Jackson, an attorney who is also expected to receive Ghanaian citizenship during the ceremony. She works closely with renowned civil rights lawyer Ben Crump.
Mr Okyere Darko emphasised that Ghana remains committed to strengthening relationships with the African diaspora and promoting unity, identity, and shared heritage among people of African descent worldwide.
By: Jacob Aggrey
Ghana Tourism Authority is leading Ghana’s participation at ITB Berlin, which opened in Berlin with a vibrant national pavilion highlighting Ghana’s rich cultural heritage, tourism destinations and investment opportunities.
March 5 has been designated as Ghana Day, a special platform to promote Ghana’s languages, cuisine, Kente, festivals and business prospects to the global tourism community. The stand has already drawn strong interest with traditional arts and crafts displays, immersive multimedia presentations and popular Ghanaian snacks.
Seven private-sector players are exhibiting alongside government officials as part of efforts to deepen trade partnerships, expand market access, and attract investment across the hospitality, heritage tourism, ecotourism, and creative arts sectors.
Ahead of the official opening, the Ghana delegation also engaged young Ghanaian investors in Germany in collaboration with V Afrika-Verein and the Ghana Embassy, strengthening diaspora investment linkages and highlighting opportunities within the tourism value chain.
Ghana’s coordinated presence at ITB Berlin 2026 reinforces its strategy to position the country as the Gateway to Africa and a competitive destination for leisure travel and global investment.
