Non-profit organisation BRAVE has partnered with the German Development Agency Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) Ghana for a successful E-Waste Training and Entrepreneurship Programme in Accra.

The series of events were partly held at the University of Ghana and the offices of Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal Assembly (LEKMA) from November 28 to December 9, 2022.

It was followed by a Hackathon and Internship Drive on December 10 and 19-23 respectively.

A cohort of some 50 women including 25 from the municipality and another 25 from the University of Ghana aged between 18-35, received training on E-Waste. They were also offered Entrepreneurship lessons.

Officials of BRAVE say they settled on E-Waste as an area of interest because of the increasing amount in Ghana, which mostly can be attributed to population growth and the use of electronic equipment.

These materials they say, contain harmful substances that pose health and environmental hazards if not handled properly.

BRAVE Founder, Tracy Owusu Addo says“Together we will successfully implement an environmentally friendly waste electrical and electronic equipment system and draw a step closer to achieving #SDG3, #SDG6 and #SDG12.”

She added that “We're looking to identify challenges within the E-Waste sector and build capacities for women at the University of Ghana and within the Ledzokuku Krowor community to create business cases in the space for prosperity and entrepreneurship development.”

As Managing Partners, BRAVE’s involvement is a result of having won the project by GIZ, who provided the budget to run the training for the 50 women.

“We are supporting four business cases, building capacity for the women and also giving 11 internship opportunities to the university students within the green space to identify the opportunities after school and get them to understand that there are opportunities and revenue generation models to be explored in the green sector.”

The trainees were full of praise for the BRAVE and GIZ teams for putting this together. “The programme has helped me a lot. Initially, I was just going to attend casually but when I got here, I was blown away by the amount of knowledge and training on offer,” said one of the trainees.

Founded by Tracy Owusu Addo, BRAVE is an NGO and an opportunity hub – that seeks to connect, inspire and empower young Ghanaian women through education, entrepreneurship and health – with a strong focus on those from underserved/underprivileged communities.

It works in three key thematic areas; practical skills training, economic empowerment, health advocacy and support.