Twum-Barimah advocates national youth green finance facility
The Founder and CEO, PTB Foundation Paul Twum-Barimah, has called for the creation of a national youth green finance facility to unlock capital for youth-led green enterprises.
He underscored the urgent need to break the cycle of youth unemployment and environmental degradation by equipping young Ghanaians with the tools to lead in the green economy.
“We cannot continue to allow Ghana’s youth to remain on the sidelines of the energy transition and climate action.
“By establishing a national youth green finance facility, we will de-risk youth ventures, open access to affordable capital, and position young entrepreneurs as the vanguard of our sustainable future,” Mr Twum-Barimah said.
Youth conference
Mr Twum-Barimah, who is also an advocate for sustainable energy and climate policy, was contributing to a panel discussion on the topic, “Unlocking climate and green finance for youth-led solutions,” at the African Youth Conference on Natural Resource and Environmental Governance (AYC-NREG 2025) underway in Accra.
The three-day conference, on the theme: “Transforming Africa’s natural resource governance through youth-led solutions,” is being attended by over 2,000 youth leaders from across the continent to explore pathways for inclusive, sustainable and innovative resource governance. Other participants include entrepreneurs, government officials, civil society, development partners and financiers.
Mr Twum-Barimah, a former Member of Parliament for Dormaa East, who has consistently championed youth empowerment, emphasised that young people must be at the heart of Ghana’s green transition agenda.
He expressed his commitment, “to building inclusive structures where youth are not only beneficiaries but central actors in shaping Ghana’s sustainable development”.
Mr Twum-Barimah noted that despite Ghana’s wealth in critical green minerals, renewable energy potential and agribusiness opportunities, access to finance remained the single greatest obstacle preventing young people from scaling innovative climate-smart businesses.
Green finance facility
He stated that the proposed national youth green finance facility could include the provision of concessional loans, grants and guarantees tailored for youth-led enterprises and also partnering local banks and international climate finance institutions such as the Green Climate Fund and African Development Bank.
Other areas, he stressed, could include supporting inclusive financing strategies that deliberately targeted young women, rural entrepreneurs and persons with disabilities and also build a pipeline of investment-ready green businesses contributing to Ghana’s development priorities and Africa’s Agenda 2063.
Mr Twum-Barimah further urged financial institutions, private investors, and development partners to work hand-in-hand with the government to operationalise such a facility as part of Ghana’s broader climate and energy transition strategy.
“Green finance is not just about climate action; it is about jobs, innovation and dignity for Ghana’s youth.
The facility will ensure that our young people are not just beneficiaries of policy but drivers of sustainable growth,” he stressed.
