By Lucy Ogalue
The African Development Bank(AfDB) Group’s country office in Guinea and the Non-Governmental Organisation Dare to Innovate (DTI) have inaugurated a project to boost small enterprises.
The bank, in a statement on its website, said the “Project to Build the Resilience of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises” would grow businesses in Guinea, Ghana and Benin.
“This project, launched on Oct. 5, will help to build the capacity of 4,500 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME).
“ About 1,750 enterprises will be grown in Guinea, 1,750 in Ghana and 1,000 in Benin, with half of them led by women.”
The National Director of Employment and Self-Employment, Aminata Kouyaté, representing the Minister of Youth and Sports, Guinea, expressed delight towards AfDB’s support.
“We are delighted and thank the AfDB for its constant support to the Republic of Guinea in the fight against unemployment and underemployment.
“Our country has placed young people at the heart of the Transitional Government’s agenda and that is why the project will receive the support it needs from the authorities for its implementation,” she said.
Kouyaté commended the quality of the work done by the DTI NGO since its inception.
She highlighted its good relations with the Guinean Government in implementing measures to support social entrepreneurship.
The director said to tackle the challenge of youth unemployment, there is the need to invest in training, financing and post-financial support of project initiators.
“DTI was created in February 2013 by young Guineans with the support of volunteers from the US Peace Corps in Guinea.
“It has supported the implementation of more than 40 projects carried out by young people throughout Guinea with more than 3 million dollars in funding.
“More than 12,000 young people have been trained in social entrepreneurship and 400 businesses have been created, generating 800 direct jobs,”Kouyaté said.
Richard Doffonsou, AfDB’s Principal Country Economist for Guinea, speaking on behalf of the Bank’s Country Manager for Guinea, reaffirmed the Bank’s support for the successful implementation of the project.
Doffonsou called on the stakeholders to work on the sustainability of the project’s outcomes so beneficiaries could grow their enterprises.
Djibril Souaré, Country Director of DTI, and the project’s coordinator, thanked the Bank and partners for the confidence they had shown in DTI through their financing of the project.
Souaré then promised to do everything possible to achieve the project’s goals.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is funded by a 927,807 dollars grant from the African Development Bank.
This financing is from the resources of the Youth Entrepreneurship and Innovation Multi-Donor Trust Fund (YEIMDTF).
The grant agreement was signed by the Bank on Feb. 24, 2022, for an implementation period of 18 months.
The project inauguration was attended by representatives of the Bank, DTI, officials from Guinea’s National Directorate of Public Investments, Ministry of Youth and Sports and Technical Education.
Representatives of Vocational Training and Employment, Ministry of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation, and the director of the start-up OZE, the implementing partner of the project, also took part in the project launch ( NAN)
