Sixty-three apprentices and trainers in the Hohoe Municipality of the Volta Region have received start-up kits through a three-way partnership involving the National Apprenticeship Programme (NAP), the Mastercard Foundation, and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA).
The support was delivered under the Business in a Box (BizBox) Agric Apprenticeship2Entrepreneur initiative, designed to help young people move from skills training into independent, sustainable livelihoods. Beneficiaries received trade-specific equipment including aprons, gloves, T-shirts, headscarves, local stoves, basins, toolkit boxes, hairdryers, industrial sewing machines, and cooking pots.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, Hohoe Municipal Chief Executive Prosper Kumi called on beneficiaries to maintain the equipment carefully to protect its long-term value. He said the distribution reflected the municipality’s sustained drive to reduce youth unemployment, noting that equipping artisans with the right tools sharpens their productivity and supports income growth.
Kumi commended the implementing partners for their role in the initiative, describing targeted support of this kind as essential to helping young people achieve economic independence.
The BizBox Municipal Coordinator, Passover Rebirth, said monitoring mechanisms were in place to track how the tools are being used. He added that follow-up visits would be conducted to ensure beneficiaries are applying the equipment effectively, with strong outcomes expected to open the programme to additional participants.
Several beneficiaries described the kits as a timely boost that would improve their working conditions and standard of living.
The BizBox initiative is a four-year, USD 55 million programme run by GEA in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, targeting 250,000 young Ghanaians, with 70 percent being women and 10 percent persons with disabilities (PWDs), by 2027. It operates through five pillars: youth skills development, access to market, access to start-up kits, youth social networks, and institutional and policy support.
