When President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme on July 13, 2017, Ghana didn’t just get another agency. We got a national reset. It was a deliberate declaration: our youth, women, persons with disabilities, kayayei, and even prison inmates would no longer be spectators in their own economy.
As a former Director who served under that vision, I can say this without fear of contradiction: NEIP under President Akufo-Addo delivered the most aggressive, structured, and inclusive support for entrepreneurs Ghana has ever seen.
The Presidential Mandate: “Jobs, Jobs, Jobs”
From the podium on launch day, President Akufo-Addo was unequivocal:
“I am determined to change the local economic conditions for the better, so that young people would see the country as a place of opportunities, instead of perceiving it as a place to flee to seek greener pastures elsewhere, at the peril of their lives.”
He called NEIP “the primary vehicle for providing an integrated, national support for start-ups and small businesses” that would “enable new businesses to emerge and give them the space to grow, to receive financing and business development services to secure markets during the critical formative years.”
Despite “severe constraints of our public finances… from years of mismanagement and corruption,” his government committed $10 million as seed money to leverage “US$100 million from private sources and public organisations”. The goal: “stimulate private sector growth… accelerate job creation and provide entrepreneurial Ghanaian youth with a critical alternative to salaried employment.”
The Results: 103,871 Jobs, 15,000 Startups, One Transformed Landscape
By 2023, the President’s scorecard was clear. At the 3rd Applied Research Conference of Technical Universities in May 2024, he reported:
“By providing financial support and business development services, NEIP has enabled 15,000 startups to expand their operations… The initiative had resulted in the creation of 103,871 jobs by the end of 2023, promoting economic diversification and empowering the youth.”
He credited NEIP with “transforming Ghana’s entrepreneurial landscape” and “establishing Ghana as an innovation hub in West Africa.”
The Programmes:
Inclusion Was the Strategy. NEIP under Nana Addo refused to cherry-pick beneficiaries. The philosophy was simple: every Ghanaian with an idea deserves an ecosystem. These were the flagship interventions:
Students Entrepreneurship Initiative (SEI)
Launched in 2018 at SHS and expanded to tertiary in 2019, SEI aimed “to train and inspire at least two million students over five years to become successful entrepreneurs”. Entrepreneurship Clubs taught business concepts, branding, and product development. Winners of national competitions earned trips to Silicon Valley or Tech City. Vice President Bawumia said it would help students “develop products and services” and “be successful entrepreneurs in future.”
Presidential Empowerment for Entrepreneurs with Disabilities
NEIP trained 100,000 PWDs nationwide, with 36,000 funded by 2024. Grants ranged from GH¢5,000 to GH¢100,000 after business advisory training. In Kumasi, 700 PWDs were trained to “become self-reliant… and capable of contributing their quota to national development.”
Entrepreneurship for Restoration – Prisoners & Officers
Launched July 12, 2023, with the Ghana Prisons Service, this programme trained 1,240 officers and inmates in soap making, cereals processing, juice production, cosmetics, and yoghurt. NEIP provided “starter packs and kits” plus “grants and loans as working capital” upon discharge. Interior Minister Ambrose Dery called it the “beginning of a life-changing journey” for 15,000 young inmates, 82% of whom are 18-35. The goal: “re-integrate them into society” with skills, not stigma.
Kayayei Empowerment Programme
Under Vice President Bawumia, NEIP targeted 5,000 female head porters by November 2024. Over 3,000 graduated in 6 months. The 3-week training covered soap making, bead making, baking, makeup, and decor. Each graduate got certificates, “starter equipment” and GH¢1,000 stipends. NEIP CEO Kofi Ofosu Nkansah: “It is prudent for every government to train its people… to be job creators and not job seekers.” Deputy CEO Abigail Laryea: “This Programme is about more than just teaching employable skills. It is about offering hope and nurturing lifelong dreams.”
Other Core Interventions
- Presidential Business Support Programme: 10,000 youth trained in light manufacturing with YEA.
- Presidential Pitch: Season 4 funded 30 finalists to scale.
- Youth in Innovative Agriculture: 25,000 youth trained; Greenhouse Estate at Dawhenya revived.
- Hubs Acceleration Grants: 45 innovation hubs funded under GETP.
- Innovation Challenge, Hackathons, Stemnovation: Built Ghana’s innovation pipeline.
- Adwumawura Programme: 10,887 youth trained; 3,212 businesses funded in 2025.
Few Faces Behind the Numbers
- Ivy Were, CafMag Enterprise: From NEIP beneficiary to authentic Ghanaian coffee producer.
- Peter Kwabina Appiah: Scaled America Farm Community Clinic after NEIP’s 2017 training.
- Francis Kwame Panford: Pig farmer who expanded through NEIP support.
- Eleiham Habibu, Kayayei Graduate: “We are eager to put our new skills to good use… becoming successful entrepreneurs.”
The Philosophy: Ecosystems Over Handouts
President Akufo-Addo understood what many miss: “entrepreneurship is not about handouts. It’s about ecosystems.” That’s why NEIP pushed “tax incentives for start-ups owned by young entrepreneurs”, “business development services”, and “a ready market… through 70% of local content public procurement contracts.” From business registration to FDA and GSA licensing, NEIP walked entrepreneurs through the maze.
The Legacy We Must Protect
From 2017 to 2023, NEIP proved political will can become economic energy. It reached classrooms, prisons, markets, and villages. It told a young woman carrying goods on her head that she could own the factory. It told an inmate that his sentence wasn’t the end of his story. It told a student that her idea was worth more than an exam grade.
The challenge now is continuity. But the blueprint is set. Under Nana Addo, NEIP moved from policy to people. A generation now builds — because one President believed they could.
Joseph Osei Oppong-Brenya
Former Director, National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme
NPP National Communications Director Hopeful
