Positioning Social Enterprise as a National Capability Strategy for Youth Employment and Inclusive Growth in Ghana

The strategy brief, which has been written for the Government of Ghana, argues that Ghana’s youth unemployment problem is not only about a lack of jobs, but a deeper failure of skills development, institutions, and labour-market coordination. With around 85% of employment in the informal sector, traditional job‑creation policies are insufficient. The authors propose repositioning social enterprise as a national capability‑building strategy rather than a small‑scale entrepreneurship initiative. Social enterprises can simultaneously create jobs, build skills, and support inclusive and sustainable growth. The brief concludes that without clear legislation, institutional alignment, and measurable outcomes, social enterprise will remain marginal, but with coherent policy, it can become a scalable solution to youth employment and inclusive growth in Ghana.