Samuel Naamgwinaa adjudged overall winner of 5th edition of presidential pitch competition
Presidential Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says starting from next year, the week preceding the presidential pitch will be known as the John Kumah Week of Entrepreneurship.
This is to honour the memory of the late Deputy Finance Minister and the inaugural Chief Executive Officer for the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), for his contribution towards the development of youthful entrepreneurs in the country.
In addition to that, President Akufo-Addo who announced this at the climax of the season five of the Presidential Pitch in Accra, said the prize for the first place winner would be known as the Dr John A. Kumah Prize for Entrepreneurship and Innovation.
The Ejisu MP died March 7, this year after a short illness.
An initiative of the NEIP, the Presidential Pitch provides a platform for young innovators and tech-disrupters to pitch their innovation or ideas to the President for support.
The winner is provided with prize money as a start-up capital in addition to technically and business support.
This year’s saw all ten finalists presented with cash prizes with the overall winner, Mr Samuel Naamgwinaa, who pitched a smart switch, receiving GH¢200,000 as his prize with additional GH¢50,000 personally from the President.
Ms Wisdom Boadu Torkornoor emerged second and received GH¢150,000; Bismark Osei got GH¢140,000 for emerging the second runner up with Amanda Aninagyei taking home GH¢110,000 for placing fourth.
The rest, Green Heart, Georgina Boamah, Isaac Brenya and Foster Osei, Ziblim Abdul-Rahim, Nyaro Lartey Billton and Onyx Terchi-Duku each received GH¢80,000.
In his address, President Akufo-Addo said more than 200,000 youth across the country had benefitted from the NEIP since its inception in 2017.
He said this demonstrated his government’s dedication to empowering the youth, adding that whole idea was borne out of a deliberate, systematic and integrated policy by the NEIP to boost the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.
Additionally, the President said 1.6 million youth had benefitted from the government’s youth-friendly development modules under the YouStart Programme, Youth Employment Agency (YEA) and Ghana CARES “Obataan Pa” Programme.
“We are on the right path,” he said of the strides made over the years, adding that his administration was focused on building an entrepreneurship nation. Under the initiative, some 15,000 business start-ups had been created, with 2,000 young entrepreneurs receiving training in entrepreneurship to better develop their innovative ideas.
The NEIP as part of this season’s event conferred on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo the title of “Dwadie Mpuntuhene (King of Enterprise)” for commitment to entrepreneurship, innovation and youth.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), NEIP, Mr Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, said the management decided to honour the President due to his unflinching support for the activities of the programme.
He disclosed that some 250, 000 beneficiaries had been provided with decent jobs under the programme since 2017, saying a considerable number of entrepreneurs had also received funding to expand their businesses.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
