Season 5 Of Presidential Pitch Launched; Prize Package Increased

The Government of Ghana working through the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme(NEIP) has increased the award package for Season 5 of the Presidential Pitch competition.

The government is earmarking three million Ghana cedis for this year’s 35 finalists. Speaking at the launch of Season 5 of the Presidential Pitch competition in Accra, Abigail Swad Laryea, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NEIP, said, “We will be narrowing down all applications to 30.

However, five special spots will allotted to contestants who had pitched brilliant business ideas the previous year but needed fine-tuning. Bringing the total to be supported to 35.”

With regards to eligibility criteria, she said, applicants must be Ghanaian citizens and must be between the ages of 18 to 40 years at the time of application.

A business idea presented by applicants according to her, must be innovative, feasible, scalable, and impactful.
On innovative, she said, the business must be new, original, and creative while with regards to feasible criteria, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NEIP stated that the business must be capable of being done or likely to be achieved.

Commenting on the scalable criteria, she disclosed, that the business should have the potential to create jobs and contribute to economic growth.

The business, she adds, should also have the potential to grow and expand beyond a small-scale operation.
With respect to impactful business, Abigail Swad Laryea said, the business should also be able to address social, economic, or environmental challenges and must have a positive impact on society.

The business that will be submitted by the applicants, Capitalnewsonline has gathered, must be the original work of the applicant and should not infringe upon the intellectual property rights of others. Over the last four seasons, ninety-five finalists had been trained and funded under the Presidential Pitch.

702 direct and over 1000 indirect jobs had been created by winners of the first three seasons of the Presidential Pitch competition in core business sectors like agriculture, fintech and technology, manufacturing, processing, tourism, creative arts, TVET, and any other economically viable areas.

Season 5 of Presidential Pitch was themed, “Youth Entrepreneurship: Power and Possibilities.”

Source: Adovor Nutifafa
dovor100@gmail.com