Mr Francis Nyonyo, the Volta Regional Representative on the Council of State, has launched a scholarship package of his Foundation, for brilliant but needy students of the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana.

He said annually, three undergraduate students and two Master of Philosophy and Doctor of Philosophy would be granted full scholarships with bursaries.

He, therefore, advised interested students to apply for the scholarship through the Head of the Department of Political Science for consideration.

He explained that the Nyonyo Foundation was a family foundation that sought to promote the needy and brilliant students from all walks of life; and that it was not limited to any group in particular.

Mr Nyonyo launched the package, on Tuesday, during a presentation at a seminar on Entrepreneurship and Job Creation.

The seminar, which was organized by the Department of Political Science, University of Ghana, was to broaden the scope of the students on those issues; as well as to prepare them for the job market.

Mr Nyonyo advised the students to take their studies very seriously and to also cultivate the spirit of entrepreneurship.

He also suggested to the Government to formulate youth entrepreneurship friendly policies in order to attract the nation’s youth into entrepreneurship.

He said transparent structures and good policies were needed to promote job creation through entrepreneurship; declaring that, "The private sector is the engine of growth of the economy".

Mr Nyonyo, a successful businessman and an entrepreneur, advised the youth to avail themselves of the opportunities in entrepreneurship job market.

He said the public sector alone could not absorb the chain of graduates the nation’s universities turned out annually.

He reminded the students that going into entrepreneurship, one had to be determined and focused, before success could be attained.

He also urged the Government to continue to create the enabling environment for the private sector to grow; stating that "when government creates an enabling environment for businesses to grow, the tax net would be widened."

Mr Nyonyo, who is also the Chief Executive Officer, Fraga Oil Ghana, recounted that in late 1990s, when the Government liberalized the oil sector to allow for local participation; it gradually led to the creation of more than 200,000 jobs.

He, however, explained that the bureaucracies in the public sector were hindering the growth of the private sector.

Dr Bossman Asare, the Head of Political Science Department, University of Ghana, said the seminar was organized to inspire students to start their own businesses; and also to offer them the platform to interact with experienced entrepreneurs.

He said we were living in a very competitive environment and that every year about 80,000 students did graduate from the nation’s tertiary institutions, with almost of all of them looking to the Government or the private sector for employment.

Dr Asare emphasized that if Ghana were able to get young people to go into entrepreneurship, it would benefit the nation a lot.

Source: GNA

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