The Eastern Region has emerged as the most conducive environment for entrepreneurs to thrive, a research by the Africa Centre for Entrepreneurship and Youth Empowerment (ACEYE) has revealed.
Titled the “Regional Entrepreneurship Freedom Index,’” the 10 entrepreneurial freedom indicators used included trade, fiscal, monetary, investment, freedom from government, freedom from corruption, labour, property rights, regulation and finance.
Launched in Accra last Friday, the Ashanti and North East regions came second and third respectively. The Oti region was ranked last.
According to the report which sampled 3,200 respondents across the country, the Eastern Region scored at least 60 per cent in five of the indicators – labour, property right, trade, investment and access to money.
Done in collaboration with Atlas Network, the report noted that the general ecosystem for entrepreneurial growth in the country is not friendly.
Vice President of IMANI Africa, SelormBranttie, speaking at the report launch urged government to sanitise the entrepreneurial space so that“startups” can grow.
MrBranttie said the need for the space to be sanitised for new businesses to grow was more pressing than ever, because support schemes introduced by successive governments to help mirco, small and medium scale enterprises have not yielded the needed results.
To him, entrepreneurship has not been properly understood in Ghana, hence everyone thinks entrepreneurs are many making ventures.
“There is a very erroneous perception that once you are an entrepreneur, you have money to waste. No one asks entrepreneurs what their core mandates are or what they seek to achieve.
“That focus is not there because we have unconsciously created an economy which is run by the people in government. But the point is entrepreneurs have not been asked what they really want.”
“I believe when the right ingredients are put together, the public and the private sectors can be motivated to create a thriving ecosystem. So, it is not just about the money, but the necessary factors that can create strong, resilient companies,” he said.
Chief Executive of ACEYE, Emmanuel Acquah said a wholesome approach to creating an ecosystem for entrepreneurs to grow may not work because every region or district has their peculiar challenges.
“Looking at the indexes of 10 regions out of the 16, every region has its dynamics. There are some regions we think government should limit its interference in the activities of entrepreneurs.
“For instance, looking at the Ashanti region, we found out from a focused group discussion that these businesses do not receive funds directly from government. However, they admitted that they hear of support schemes targeted at them which they do not benefit.”
“This revealed that in as much as government is trying to help entrepreneurs by spending on them, yet it’s not achieving its purpose,” he said.