Africa-Press – Ghana. The Centre for Democratic Development Ghana (CDD-Ghana), in partnership with the Rural Initiatives for Self-Empowerment (RISE-Ghana), both Non-Governmental Organisations, has commenced an entrepreneurship training project to equip young people in the Upper East Region with essential business development skills.
The initiative, dubbed; “Bridging the Gap: Promoting Socio-Economic Inclusion, Social Cohesion, and Peacebuilding for Vulnerable Communities,” aims to strengthen community resilience against violent extremism through socio-economic inclusion.
With funding from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF), the project is expected to train 60 young people across six districts in the region: Bongo District, Kassena-Nankana Municipality, Builsa North Municipality, Bolga East District, Bawku Municipality, and Nabdam District.
As part of the project activities, RISE-Ghana would conduct a series of business skills training sessions, beginning with a 10-day small ruminant production programme for selected beneficiaries in the region.
The training aims to equip young people (aged 15–35), women, and minority groups with practical knowledge and hands-on skills in small ruminant husbandry, including animal selection, feeding, housing, health management, and profitable livestock practices.
The initiative, coordinated by CDD-Ghana, seeks to improve livelihoods, strengthen economic resilience, and reduce vulnerabilities that can be exploited by violent extremism.
In an interview on the sidelines of the opening day of the 10-day training, Madam Jaw-Haratu Amadu, Head of Programmes at RISE-Ghana, said the training would empower young people and their households with reliable sources of food and income.
She said, “Learning how to rear animals will give households a sustainable source of nutrition and earnings, which ties directly into our broader goal of socio-economic inclusion and social cohesion.”
She added that the training would include field visits to demonstration farms, where participants would acquire practical skills to enhance their production capacity.
She emphasised that the project would contribute to food security and economic stability in each of the six selected districts, while helping to reduce the rising unemployment rate in the country.
Mr Major Gogo Ashifie, an accountant at CDD-Ghana, who led participants through basic accounting, including simple bookkeeping techniques and practical tips on branding and marketing, urged them to take the training seriously.
He said the training was designed to equip community members with the knowledge to manage small-scale enterprises, improve household income, and strengthen local economic resilience, key pillars in countering vulnerabilities to violent extremism.
“The idea is to give them the tools to track revenues, costs, and profits even without a formal accounting background, and to understand how proper bookkeeping can boost trust with buyers and suppliers,” Mr Ashifie said.
He also encouraged participants to apply basic marketing techniques in managing their businesses to better promote their goods and services, and to attract and retain customers.
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