The Chairman of the NDC Youth Manifesto Committee, Julian Mawuse Cobbinah, has revealed that the John Mahama administration plans to support the creation of at least 10,000 youth-led businesses each year as part of an ambitious strategy to tackle youth unemployment and boost economic activity.

Speaking on Channel One Newsroom on Sunday, May 4, Cobbinah emphasised the transformative potential of the initiative, provided it is implemented with fairness and transparency.

“The John Mahama Government believes that it can help create 10,000 new businesses every year, that are created by young people. If these businesses are providing 10 each employed young persons, and we are doing it for the next four years, that is 40,000 times 10, and that is for only direct jobs, and that is very massive,” he explained.

He stressed that only deserving and qualified individuals would benefit from the programme, with strong mechanisms in place to prevent partisan interference in the allocation of business support.

“The people who will get the support must merit it. In the past, we have wrecked our support system for businesses, and it has become like a partisan cradle… I think we must stop that. What the government wants to do is to have a credible regime and process in the awarding of the support to these businesses,” Cobbinah asserted.

He noted that a merit-based system would ensure that support reaches young entrepreneurs who truly need it and can help drive sustainable economic growth.

The Adwumawura Programme, which targets young people aged 18 to 35, is expected to be central to the NDC’s job creation and youth empowerment agenda, fostering innovation and a vibrant private sector.