Ignatius Baffour Awuah, Minister for Employment and Labour Relations, has recommended young company owners build companies that specialise in eco-friendly goods and services in order to support economic growth.
"The necessity to transition from the current brown economy to a sustainable and environmentally friendly economy (green economy) forces us to create and adopt cutting-edge technologies that allow us to utilise the available resources effectively and sustainably.
The green and circular economies are made possible by these advances and eco-friendly technology, he claimed.
Last Thursday in Accra, Ghana, the Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND) hosted a young entrepreneurs' forum with the subject "Green Innovations for Sustainable Development: Empowering Young Entrepreneurs." Mr. Awuah made this statement in a speech that was read on his behalf.
The forum gave young people a chance to exercise their influence on environmentally friendly ideas that support environmental sustainability.
Developing skills
Mr. Baffour Awuah stated that it was essential for youngsters to develop skills in order to take advantage of possibilities in the green economy.
He said that by acquiring these skills, young people would not only help to create a more environmentally friendly future but would also position themselves for employment prospects in a labour market that is fast changing.
"While the green economy offers us tremendous potential for job creation, we can only take full advantage of the opportunities when we help people, like the young, acquire the skills and develop the entrepreneurial spirit to enable them to grow and manage green businesses," he said.
Adding that "we also recognise that the green economy presents enormous potential for job creation, and we can take advantage of this if we put in place the necessary measures," he said that his ministry recognised the need for the nation to contribute to the global agenda to address the impacts of climate change.
Pius Enam Hadzide, CEO of the National Youth Authority (NYA), indicated that because the government was already overstretched with expenses, the public sector was not a viable method to provide the millions of jobs required for the young people of Ghana.
According to him, there are many career possibilities related to combating climate change in industries like sustainable agriculture and energy, therefore young people need to be creative enough to make money off of climate change solutions.
As far as hiring in the public sector is concerned, there is a hurdle. Increasing the tax base may be a short-term goal, but positioning young people to be creative job creators for both themselves and others is a better long-term solution, according to him.
Chibeze Ezekiel, Executive Director for SYND, stated that the Young Green Entrepreneurs wanted to empower the next generation of sustainable leaders by introducing and upscale of creative ideas in tackling the threat of climate change, supporting an efficient energy system.
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