Entrepreneurship not solution to youth unemployment

The harsh realities existing on the market are ignored when the youth are encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship without addressing structural barriers.

Forcing young people to start enterprises without collateral, personal resources, or family capital poses an instant obstacle. The youth just do not have the collateral that traditional banks require.

Forced entrepreneurs run the risk of turning their unemployment into crippling debt in the absence of accessible financing, flexible grants, or cash-flow-based funding.

It is entirely absurd to expect an unemployed graduate to gladly embrace extremely risky entrepreneurial endeavours while disregarding their rightful need for steady, compensated income.

A management consultant and start-up coach, Dr. Bernard Agyei Aryee, makes a crucial observation: “We may be producing more business owners without necessarily producing stronger businesses.”

Policymakers often commend state-sponsored programmes such as YouStart, the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP). However, superficial criteria like the sheer number of micro grants awarded or the number of individuals crammed into a training hall are nearly always used to gauge their success.

Sustainability, revenue growth, and long-term company survival are the key indicators of true success. A training programme that produces a company that fails within six months is a complete waste of public funds.

The national strategy needs to shift from survivalist entrepreneurship to high-growth, structural development if we want youth-led businesses to succeed:

Students must no longer be taught to be passive compliance officers in anticipation of a professional desk job. Financial management, market analysis, and practical problem-solving must be actively promoted in the curriculum.

Financial institutions need to do away with old collateral rules. Young companies should be assessed using contemporary indicators such as market potential, confirmed transactions, and transparent cash flow.

To protect company support from political cycles, a national framework for entrepreneurship development is critically needed. This guaranties impartial evaluation and transparent beneficiary selection.

Well-established businesses need to take action. For young-led firms to survive, mentorship, internships, and active integration into supply chains are essential.

Instead of being a desperate survival strategy for young people turned off by the conventional employment market, The Spectator thinks that entrepreneurship could be an aspirational career path motivated by passion and market potential.

Telling young people to “just start a business” is merely passing the blame until the public and private sectors create a solid foundation of accessible funding, practical training, and structural support.