Africa Street MBA Accel­erator programme, aimed to provide an integrated, regional support for start-ups and small businesses in the country was yesterday launched in Accra by a management consultancy and investment firm, DONE BY US.

The programme which is in col­laboration with KGL Foundation seeks to impact young people with world-class business knowledge based on top MBA curriculum and entrepreneurial course content.

It is targeted at marginalised groups (women, people from poor backgrounds, and people with low education) with innovative business ideas or already established busi­nesses.

The founder of DONE BY US, Mr King Awudu Wellington, in an address said the programme would help reduce high start-up failure rate in the country and by exten­sion the Africa continent.

He said it would also provide a platform for deprived young people from poor background and with low education but with bright ideas and existing businesses to also benefit from a world-class business development programme.

“Most often, a young lady from the street of Tatale Sanguli or a young gentlemen from the street of Awutu/Senya Breku does not get the opportunity to benefit from business development programmes and build world-class businesses.

It is for this reason that the Africa Street MBA has been devel­oped to impact young people with world-class business knowledge based on top MBA curriculum and entrepreneurial course content,” he added.

Mr Wellington said the Africa Street MBA had been designed to bridge the business knowledge gap and help young people from poor backgrounds, and with low educa­tion to have opportunity to build world-class enterprises.

“We are taking business knowl­edge from the formal sector into the informal sector; from the corporate world into the street, so many more young entrepreneurs in Ghana and Africa would be em­powered to become global giants,” he said.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, who was the guest speaker in a speech read on her behalf said to achieve rapid economic development; the Private Sector could not be sidelined, rather made robust to support eco­nomic growth and development.

“If our Micro, Small and Medi­um Enterprises (MSMEs) become more robust, they will contribute more to job creation and poverty reduction, and this will contribute extensively to the enhancement of the government revenue generation stream,” she added.

According to her, one of the sig­nificant benefits that nations enjoy from a vibrant Micro, Small and Medium Sector was the heightened reduction of youth unemployment saying “MSMEs play an essential role in the improvement of income of households through job cre­ation, industrial development, and rural development.”

Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said in Ghana, the MSME Sector provided over 85 per cent of manufacturing em­ployment and assured that with the support of the government and other stakeholders, GEA would continue to strengthen MSMEs and ensure that they have im­proved access to credit facilities to expand their operations and grow to contribute greatly to economic growth.

Nii Ankonu Annorbah-Sarpei, Programmes Manager, KGL Foun­dation, reiterated the foundation’s commitment to the socio-econom­ic development of young people and Ghanaians in general.

He said KGL Foundation be­lieved in youth development and empowerment which were vital to the attainment of national, sustain­able and individual development.

Nii Annorbah-Sarpei expressed optimism that their partnership with DONE BY US would pos­itively impact the lives of young people, specifically, women and people with low education from poor background and creates employment opportunities and support mechanisms for innova­tions and new businesses.