Head of Environment and Climate, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Dr Abdul Razak Saeed, says the transition to greener practices requires deeper research-informed insights for sustainable practices.

He said the research into green transition must unearth the possible pitfalls and opportunities on how Ghana’s Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) could adopt sustainable methods and resources in their production processes.

Dr Razak Saeed was speaking at the stakeholder validation workshop on Greening MSME production with a focus on logistics and packaging.

It was to further empower local MSMEs which play a vital role in several African economies, including Ghana, in applying environmental considerations in their business operations for sustainable growth and integration into the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)

The Head of Environment and Climate said Ghanaian MSMEs by adopting sustainable methods and efficiency, could enhance their economies of scale, and competitiveness, and increase access to wider, premium, and international markets.

He said sustainable practices could enhance their premium and international market competitiveness by harnessing the benefits of AfCFTA.

“By charting this greening production trajectory with MSMEs, we will further support AfCFTA’s potential of enhanced economic growth projected to add around $450 billion to African economies by 2035 and to lift 30 million people out of extreme poverty,” he said.

He said UNDP was therefore leveraging its technical expertise and networks of practitioners and stakeholders to support MSMEs, especially women and youth-led, in greening their businesses to fully harness the potential of the AfCFTA agreement.

Dr Razak-Saeed emphasised that Ghanaian MSMEs pursuing green initiatives would further meet the growing demands of a growing population that was becoming increasingly conscious of the environmental impact of their consumption choices.

Mr. Jacob Gyamfi-Aidsoo, Senior Advisor, AfCFTA, urged MSMEs and businesses intended to export to the European market to have green credentials.

He said the green credentials could be achieved by incorporating a sustainability report to meet the demand of sustainably conscious customers in the European and global markets.

Dr Martin Akogti, Deputy Director and researcher at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) entreated all MSMEs to prioritise quality management and sustainable packaging, as many consumers were now environmentally conscious and willing to pay higher prices for sustainable products.

He said GEPA was looking forward to deepening its partnerships with UNDP in various value chains to continue to grow the export sector and drive economic growth and job creation.