Young people in Ghana aged between 18 and 35 can now apply for startup loans ranging from GH₵5,000 to GH₵500,000 under the government’s flagship 24-Hour Economy and Accelerated Export Development Programme (24H+), alongside access to free digital skills training and guaranteed internships.

The Expression of Interest portal, available via 24H+ Programme, is inviting applications from youth as well as farmers, traders, investors and manufacturers for a wide range of opportunities across key sectors of the economy.

These include agro-ecological parks, pharmaceutical innovation, textile and garment production, air cargo logistics, and creative industry development.

For young applicants, the programme offers free digital skills training through Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) centres across all 16 regions, as well as guaranteed internship placements with partner companies under the initiative.

Participants can also access concessionary loans facilitated by the Development Bank Ghana, while equity financing will be available through the Venture Capital Trust Fund. Priority will be given to cooperatives and trade associations.

President John Dramani Mahama has described the 24H+ initiative as a “holistic, integrated multisectoral programme” designed to address bottlenecks constraining production in agriculture, fisheries, manufacturing and the creative economy.

Beyond financing and training, the programme also offers a suite of incentives for participating businesses, including reduced corporate income tax rates for firms operating multiple shifts, preferential access to utilities, and exemptions on import duties for machinery and raw materials not available locally.

Additional benefits include VAT relief in selected sectors, export performance rebates, and location-based tax incentives such as temporary tax holidays for startups in manufacturing, ICT, agro-processing and tourism.

The portal is also open for registrations into several flagship projects, including agro-processing facilities, industrial parks, and sector-specific hubs such as the Akosombo Textiles and Garments Park, the Tamale Air Cargo Hub, and the Legon Pharmaceutical Innovation Park.

Interested applicants are required to complete an Expression of Interest form on the programme’s official website. Authorities say more opportunities will be rolled out in subsequent phases of the initiative.