Social Enterprise Ghana, the network of social entrepreneurs and hubs in Ghana, says it is committed to building strategic business partnerships between Ghanaian social enterprises and the French business community.

Engaging more than 60 French businesses at a ‘masterclass’ during the New Africa France Summit, the Executive Director of Social Enterprise Ghana, Edwin Zu-Cudjoe, said the focus on France is timely.

“It is very imperative for institutions like us to have close partnerships with our French counterparts. Though synergies between French and Anglophone speaking countries are low, we trust a close relationship between Social Enterprise and French entities will be pivotal to dealing with the challenges and also maximizing the opportunities in the social Enterprise arena,” he stated.

He called on the French Development Agency and its sister organisations - Proparco, BPI and Business France to seed the Ghana Social Enterprise Fund to provide long term patient capital to social entrepreneurs, women and young entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with disability to procure equipment and infrastructure.

The Executive Director of Social Enterprise Ghana, Edwin Zu-Cudjoe, also called on the French Ambassador to Ghana, Anne Sophie Avé, to develop specific programmes targeted at young women entrepreneurs that are creating jobs and services especially for vulnerable communities.

The event saw other entrepreneurs and investors like Food for All Africa, Leti Arts, Kaeme, Sekbi Bogolan, Innohub, Oasis Capital, etc in attendance

Social Enterprise Ghana (SE Ghana) is the national network for high-impact social entrepreneurs in Ghana. SE Ghana has a current membership of 720 social enterprises operating in diverse sectors of climate-smart agribusiness, circular economy, health services, inclusive financial services, TVET and education.

SE Ghana advocates for business-friendly policies for social enterprises and supports members with training, research, access to skills, access to market, access to technology and access to finance. SE Ghana has a goal of increasing funding to social enterprises by catalysing $1billion dollars for social enterprises in Ghana by 2030.