The fourth season of the Presidential Pitch competition, a special entrepreneurship initiative designed and organized by the Ministry of Business Development in conjunction with the National Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme (NEIP) was held in Accra on 18th August 2023 with Caleb Edem Mantey CEO of Relu Interactives emerging the overall winner out of 30 finalists.

The overall winner of the presidential pitch will receive GHc150,000 and an additional GH¢ 50,000 from President Nana Addo after an impressive pitch.

President Nana Akufo-Addo speaking at the pitch indicated that the government had set aside GHc 2.5 million for disbursement to the thirty (30) participants of the 2023 presidential pitch series season 4.

Those between the 11th and 30th positions received between GH¢30,000 and GH¢50,000 while the 1st to 10th received between GH¢70,000 and GH¢150,000.

According to H.E Nana Akufo Addo, since the onset of the Presidential Pitch in 2017, three (3) editions have been held, with 30 young entrepreneurs awarded cash prizes to help set up and scale up their enterprises.

"Entrepreneurship is a vital component of economic growth and development and has been embraced globally as an important driver of economic transformation. I believe firmly that the fastest way to deal with the challenges confronting our economy and the unacceptable rate of unemployment is the fusion of technology, entrepreneurship, and business. Governments, the world over, recognize youth entrepreneurship as the appropriate tool to address the unemployment challenges of our times," he stated.

He underscored that since the commencement of the Presidential Pitch, 702 direct and thousands of indirect jobs have been created by our winners, with the majority of these jobs being established in rural communities.

"I want to single out the Chief Executive Officer of Pizzaman Chickenman, Christian Boakye Yiadom, the tenth-place winner from Season Two for special mention. He started his pizza business on the campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi. He received GH¢25,000, which he used to scale up his business. It eventually led to the opening of the first Pizzaman Chickenman branch on the KNUST campus on 17th January 2020, some six months after the competition. Today, Pizzaman Chickenman has become a household name and a favorite bite for many," President Akufo Addo noted.

The Chief Executive Officer of the National Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah emphasized that government is committed to equipping young and innovative entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses.

He added that the money given to these entrepreneurs are grants.

He assured the 30 participants that they will continue to receive support from NEIP despite the conclusion of the competition.