A leading Canadian Youth led organization, Youth Challenge International (YCI), in collaboration with NORSAAC has graduated 48 young women in social entrepreneurship after they were trained for 8 weeks.  The project, herstart and innovate the future built the capacities of the young women in social entrepreneurship and provided them with devices such as mobile phones, tablets, laptops and funding for their businesses.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, Mr. Esmond Quansah, Project Lead for Youth Challenge International, commended the beneficiaries for their steadfastness during the training period. He said the purpose of the project was to bridge the livelihood gap among young women and promote equity. He noted the project is designed to support young women realize sustainable livelihoods through social entrepreneurship.

In her brief remarks, Mrs Hafsah Sey Sumani, Head of Programmes at NORSAAC, urged the beneficiaries to be diligent with the skills that they have acquired through the training and in turn impact others who were selected for the opportunity. She also encouraged them to explore other opportunities in other institutions for partnerships, stressing that the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection, National Youth Authority among others institutions are places they can explore  such opportunities.

A beneficiary, Hajara Abdul-Razak, commended YCI for the laudable initiative and urged other NGOs to support women empowerment. She said a chunk of the beneficiaries have put the training into use by innovating in their business while others have also begun the process of setting up their businesses. She urged young to endeavour to acquire a skill enable them become independent and contribute to the sustenance of their families.

Another beneficiary, Osman Joywiya, said the 8-week training the beneficiaries underwent had greater impact on them. She said the have learned a lot, adding the skills they acquired were already showing impact on their businesses and lives. She congratulated her colleagues for successfully undergoing the training and commended YCI and partners for the noble initiative.

The project aims training over 7,000 women with social entrepreneurship.

Story by Ibrahim Angaangmeni Alhassan