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The Largest Cohort Yet
Twenty-eight young people — twenty of whom are women — completed MIWA's Youth Empowerment skills training programme at a graduation ceremony held in Takoradi at the end of August. The cohort is the largest the programme has produced since it was formally established in 2023, and it represents a significant expansion in both reach and curriculum depth.
The six-month programme combines vocational skills training in selected trades with an entrepreneurship curriculum covering business planning, financial management, customer acquisition, and digital tools for small business. Participants are selected through an open application process; no prior qualifications are required. MIWA's core belief is that the barriers facing young people in the region are not primarily about capacity — they are about access to structured opportunity.
Trades Covered in This Cohort
This cohort trained across four vocational tracks:
- Garment construction and fashion design (11 participants)
- Food processing and packaging (8 participants)
- Basic electronics and phone repair (5 participants)
- Graphic design and digital printing (4 participants)
Each track was delivered by a practitioner drawn from MIWA's volunteer network — working professionals in the relevant trade who contributed their time and expertise to structured weekly sessions.
Beyond the Certificate
Graduation from the programme is a beginning, not an end. MIWA stays in contact with all graduates through a WhatsApp alumni group and quarterly check-in visits. The organisation actively brokers introductions between graduates and potential clients, suppliers, and market opportunities — the kind of social capital that is often the real constraint for young entrepreneurs from less-connected backgrounds.
Several graduates from previous cohorts have gone on to employ other young people from their communities. That multiplier effect — young entrepreneurs becoming local employers — is the metric MIWA's Youth Empowerment programme team watches most closely.
Join the Volunteer Network
The programme depends entirely on practitioner-volunteers who teach the vocational tracks. If you have a skill to share and a few hours a week to contribute, MIWA wants to hear from you. Teaching a trade to one cohort of young people has an impact that compounds for years. Visit our Volunteer page to register your interest.