The Ghana Hubs Network is calling for sustainability to be integrated into the development of startups and innovation in Ghana rather than treated as an afterthought.

Chairperson of the Network, Yaw Adu Gyamfi, said startups must consider sustainability from the early stages of developing their ideas and business models.

According to him, while innovation can contribute to sustainable development, startups can also move in the opposite direction if sustainability is not deliberately incorporated into their operations.

Speaking to JoyNews, Kenneth Awotwe Darko on the sidelines of the Hamburg Sustainability Conference, Mr Gyamfi said Ghana’s emerging startup ecosystem must ensure that innovative ideas and prototypes are designed with long-term sustainability in mind.

“Sustainability should not be an afterthought,” he said, stressing the need for entrepreneurs to understand sustainability goals and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) from the outset.

He noted that some Ghanaian startups are already developing climate-smart solutions, particularly in areas such as sustainable agriculture and the efficient use of water, land and other natural resources.

However, he said there was a need for systems that would help entrepreneurs translate such ideas and prototypes into sustainable businesses.

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Mr Gyamfi said startups should be encouraged to track their objectives and activities against the SDGs, particularly as the 2030 deadline for achieving the goals approaches.

“We need to make sure that the ideas that we are coming up with and the prototypes that we are building are sustainable,” he said.

He added that sustainability should be incorporated into startup business models from the beginning instead of being introduced after a product or service has already been developed.

The Ghana Hubs Network has been involved in efforts to strengthen Ghana’s startup ecosystem, including stakeholder engagements that contributed to the development of the proposed Ghana Innovation and Startup Bill.

Mr Gyamfi said the broader objective should be to create an enabling environment in which startups can grow while contributing to Ghana’s development priorities.

He said discussions at platforms such as the Hamburg Sustainability Conference provide an opportunity to examine how Ghana’s innovation ecosystem can better align entrepreneurship with sustainability.

He urged startups to view sustainability not only as a climate-related concern but also as part of how they define their objectives, develop products and measure their impact.