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Business Reporter

GOVERNMENT has exceeded its target of availing empowerment opportunities to youths in all sectors of the economy from 20 000 to 1,1 million, a Cabinet minister has said.

Presenting the post-Cabinet report on Tuesday, the Minister of Information Communication Technology (ICT), Postal and Courier Services, Dr Jenfan Muswere, said Professor Mthuli Ncube, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, told Cabinet that the massive increase was attributed to enhanced entrepreneurship training, access to business loans.

This is part of milestones achieved under the Government’s National Development Strategy (NDS1) blueprint’s 14 Thematic Working Groups (TWGs).

The NDS1 was launched in October 2020 with its implementation commencing in 2021.

“Under the Youth, Sport, Arts and Culture TWG, the nation is being informed as follows; youth participation in decision making positions was enhanced by 5,2 percent, youths who accessed empowerment opportunities in all sectors of the economy exceeded the initially targeted 20 000 and reached 1.1 million,” said the minister.

“The massive increase was attributed to enhanced entrepreneurship training, access to business loans through Empower Bank, and business management training conducted by the Zimbabwe Youth Council”.

The financial institution was set up as a micro-banking unit by the Government in 2018 specifically to support different youth initiatives in order to achieve economic empowerment and financial inclusion.

The bank also mobilises youths through financial literacy and project proposal training so that they present bankable business proposals in order to access funding.