Over 125 green micro, small and medium enterprises in Ashanti and Western Regions have received an enterprise development training to grow and contribute to Ghana’s green and climate-resilient economy.

Country Director of SNV Ghana, Barbara White Nkoala, says investing in green start-ups will help drive sustainable development. 

The SNV GrEEn Incubation Programme affords beneficiaries access to markets, networks, and expert mentorship by experienced entrepreneurs and experts.

The support comes to mitigate complexities and possibilities of collapse that scare many youth and women business startups.Over 125 green businesses in Ashanti and Western Regions have completed the 4th session of the 4-year project.

Barbara White Nkoala, says startups in the green space need support and investment to navigate through the entrepreneurial world.

"Businesses need ongoing support and investment. Running a business is a difficult undertaking. Yet the youth and women who are brave to start. There are a lot of challenges they have to overcome and need investment. It's important we ensure their businesses succeed,” she said.

The close-out and award ceremony officially brings an end to the GrEEn Incubation Programme by recognizing the work of all implementing partners as well as the innovative green entrepreneurs.

Madam Nkoala explained the project has achieved the target of tailoring assistance to the critical needs of green entrepreneurs.

“What was great about this is how the project worked with the hubs to tailor to the most practical uses for the business and needs as well as the complexity and comprehensive support we provided.”

Through the Green Innovation Challenge, 27 green entrepreneurs received a total of over GHS 3 million matching grants to scale up their businesses. The Young Entrepreneurs and Startups Support (YESS) Fund this year provided EUR 250,000 to SMEs in the green sector.

Poject manager of the GrEEN project at SNV Ghana, Laouali Sadda, is certain beneficiaries are viable to succeed in the market.

“One of the key things we focused on was sustainability, and we believe that beneficiaries have been equipped to that level. We ensured that the support can continue their business and expand them as well,” he said.

Some beneficiaries shared their experience of implementing green recommended measures to expand their business.

“I can say that all the businesses I witnessed undergo SNV training and support are thriving,” Samuel Asare said.

“I realised I needed to do more market research and advertisement to get more customers to be able to employ more people,” Doreen said.

Awards were presented to some of the SMEs under the categories of the Most Performing SME, Innovative Green Business, Best Female-Led Business, Most Transformed Business, Rising Star and Overall Best SME.

Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a project from the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation, and the United Nations Capital Development Fund.