A citrus factory is set to be established in Obuasi by December, 2020.
The establishment of the factory is one of the projects being undertaken under the Enable Youth Initiative.
So far, 60 successful applicants have been selected in the Obuasi Municipality and are currently undergoing orientation to own and manage the factory which is expected to process orange juice for exports and local consumption.
Addressing the highly enthusiastic young graduates, the Municipal Chief Executive for Obuasi, Elijah Adansi-Bonah said the government is committed to creating the enabling environment for private businesses with capital to flourish.
He said this is why the government through the Rural Enterprise Programme has rolled out the Enable Youth Programme to empower the youth.
Mr. Adansi-Bonah again said the government is providing land, capital and the factory for them to start the business.
He, however, called on them to be committed towards the project.
On his part, the Municipal Coordinating Director, Francis Dwira Darko said gone are the days when graduates preferred to work in the public sector. He said, ” it is important to be an entrepreneur where you can be self-employed and employ others too.”
The Municipal Head of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Kelvin Ofori Atta also touched on the essence of the project.
He said the project is targeted at reducing the rate of graduate unemployment in the country.
He indicated that the project will be sited at New Biakoyeden in the Kunka Electoral area of the Municipality.
The Rural Enterprises Programme (REP), under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is implementing the “Empowering Novel Agri-Business-Led Employment (1D1F Enable Youth)” Initiative. The 1D1F Enable Youth Initiative seeks to encourage young graduates to establish agro-processing factories, along key value chains in selected districts across the country, in line with the 1D1F policy.
Successful applicants will be supported to form companies and provided with processing centres with interest-free loans. They will also be provided with challenge grant funds. The beneficiaries will be engaged at various entry points along the value chain (plantation development, aggregation, processing, marketing etc.)
In all, 58 factories/companies are set to be established in the targeted districts of the country with 58 youth-led businesses incorporated under the Companies Act.
