GH University Graduate Hustles in Traffic After Failing to Secure Corporate Job With Degree

• A young Ghanaian graduate, Shafawu Mustapha, has taken to street hawking after failing to secure a white-collar job with her degree
• In a TikTok video sighted by YEN.com.gh, she was seen selling beverages like sobolo and tiger nut drinks
• Her story sheds light on Ghana's rising graduate unemployment, which hit 14.7 per cent in 2023, according to GSS
• Shafawu Mustapha shared her story with more details about her struggle to find a job during an interaction with YEN.com.gh

A young Ghanaian lady, Shafawu Mustapha, has taken her destiny into her own hands by taking to the streets to hustle.

Shafawu Mustapha, a graduate of the University of Development Studies (UDS), hit the streets to hustle for her daily bread.

In a video circulating on TikTok, Shafawu Mustapha was seen hawking local beverages to earn a living.

Shafawu indicated in the caption of a TikTok video that she began hawking in the streets after failing to secure a white-collar job with her university degree.

"From graduating from university to selling beverages on the streets. Alhamdulillah, regardless. Patronise me, I sell sobolo, tiger nuts drink, millet drink and mashed kenkey," she wrote.

Speaking to YEN.com.gh, Shafawu said she graduated from the UDS in 2021, with a bachelor's degree in Integrated Development Studies.

She said after completing her mandatory one-year national service at the Ghana Free Zones Authority in 2022, she struggled to find a job,

Shafawu explained that she applied to many companies to seek employment, but none of her effort yielded any profit results.

Having become tired of idling at home without a job, the young lady said she decided to start a local beverage business to keep her busy.

"I got tired of sitting idle at home and hoping for the day I would get a white collar job, so I decided to start a local beverage business to keep me busy and away from depression. It hasn’t been easy for me as an unemployed graduate, it feels like my parents wasted money on my education for nothing hmm," he told YEN.com.gh

The unemployment situation in Ghana

The young lady's story highlights the challenges many graduates in Ghana face in securing employment despite having a degree.

The average rate of unemployment currently stands at 14.7 per cent, according to the last Household Income and Expenditure Survey Quarter Three Labour Bulletin released by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) in 2024.

Per the GSS data, the number of unemployed youth aged between 15 and 35 rose from about 1.2 million to over 1.3 million.

The 14.7 per cent figure covers the period 2023, and it remains to be seen if the numbers reduced or soared further in 2024.

While various governments have tried to roll out programmes and policies to provide jobs for the teeming youth, the unemployment figures keep rising.

The current government recently launched Adwumawura and One Million Coders programmes as part of a broader plan to create employment for the Ghanaian youth.

Adwumawura is a business start-up policy aimed at supporting the creation and growth of 10,000 businesses annually, with a particular focus on young people, while the One Million Coders programme aims at training one million Ghanaians in digital skills, specifically coding, to prepare them for the future job market.

Shafawu Mustapha and her fellow unemployed university graduates would be expected to take advantage of the government’s job creation programmes to change their individual situations.

Watch the video below:

Graduate selling sobolo commended for her determination

Some netizens who came across the video of Shaphy hawking on the streets seem impressed by her determination.

Below are some of the comments:

@Seeyatbeauty said:

"May Allah bless your business so you can come and buy lace."

@Progress4real also said:

"May Allah bless your sweat and struggles by expanding the business beyond imagination."

@Mukaila Gonzaga commented:

"Masha Allah. May Allah bless your hussle."

University graduates hawks air freshner in traffic

In a related development, YEN.com.gh reported that a fresh university graduate took the plunge to hit the streets to hustle to earn a living

The young lady, known as Ama Godsplan, graduated from the Koforidua Technical University and took to the streets to hawk.

A video making the rounds on social media captured Ama Godsplan selling air fresheners on the busy streets.

Proofreading by Samuel Gitonga, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.

Source: YEN.com.gh