The Mastercard Foundation has rolled out an ambitious target of reaching up to three million youth in Ghana, with an intention to inspire and support their interests and participation in agriculture, Programme Lead-Agriculture Primary Production at MasterCard Foundation, Daniel Ninson, has disclosed.
Almost 70 percent of the target, according to Mr. Ninson, will be young women who participate in the agribusiness value chain.
Speaking in a plenary session on agriculture and agribusiness at the maiden Youth Economic Forum (YEF) in Accra yesterday, Mr. Ninson explained that MasterCard is influencing youth-interest with the design of the Foundation’s programmes.
“MasterCard Foundation is leveraging technology in order to provide these opportunities in the sector for the youth, as agriculture is at the centre of what we do,” he said.
With agriculture and agribusiness occupying 80-90 percent of the Foundation’s programme portfolio, Mr. Ninson however noted that the MasterCard Foundation has identified 13 value chains in the sector which have been categorised into four – tree crops, cereals and legumes, animal production and horticulture.
“What we have tried to do in the various value chains is mapping the various opportunities that we believe we can unlock to provide chances for young people and entrepreneurs who are looking forward to making impacts in the agribusiness chain,” he noted.
Indeed, the Foundation’s programming is currently focusing on three key things: which include provision of capacity building, access to finance and access to market for young agriculture entrepreneurs.
Meanwhile, CEO-Oceans Mall, Caroline Pomeyie – who was on the panel, asked organisations such as the MasterCard Foundation to direct more assistance to the fisheries sector in terms of capacity building and funding.
Source: Business and Financial Times
