To support mature and growing green and sustainable entrepreneurs who have innovative products and services that do not harm the environment or makes use of waste materials in the Ashanti and Western Regions, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation has been rolling out a 6-month business support and training programme called, GrEEn Acceleration Programme in partnership with Innohub, a business accelerator and advisory hub in Ghana.
The GrEEn Acceleration Programme forms part of the 4-year Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project which is being implemented by SNV Ghana with funding from the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana.
On Friday, 24 March 2023, eleven (11) green businesses from cohort 3 and cohort 4 of the GrEEn Acceleration Programme graduated after receiving training on securing national and diaspora investments, meeting environmental and social safeguards requirements, good manufacturing practices and eco-friendly packaging, and many other support services.
Overall, a total of 12 green entrepreneurs representing the 11 greenbusinesses graduated and include: Amdiya Abdul Latiff of Eco-Me Africa,Hanna Boakye-Asiamah of Baanuena Farms, Georgina Filson of Ginafil Foods Processing, Hospitality & Entrepreneurial Development Training Centre, Michael Acquah of Supreme Pod Industry Limited and Nana Yaa Manu Adjei of Waterforce Ventures from the cohort 3 batch.
Under Cohort 4: Elizabeth Bayo of Nasag-Lach Company Limited, Louisa Agartha Manu of LOMEL Foods and Catering Services Limited, Mavis Prah of Yebitom, Rita Aku-Shika Diabah of Yesli Ice, as well as Rashida Moro and Zachariah Abubakar, co-founders of Mushfam Enterprise.
Out of the 11 entrepreneurs who graduated from the GrEEn Acceleration Programme, 6 of them have been awarded grants totalling three hundred and ninety-seven, thousand, thirty cedis (GHS 397,030) from the European Union and SNV under the GrEEn Innovation Challenge in 2021 and 2022 as well as the GrEEn Business Plan Competition in 2021 and 2022 to scale up their businesses and create jobs for youth job seekers in the Ashanti and Western Regions. A total of 20 businesses have received training under the GrEEn
Acceleration Programme.
As part of the graduation ceremony, entrepreneurs from the 11 businesses pitched their products and services with Rita Aku-Shika Diabah of Yesli Ice emerging as overall winner and receiving GHS 10,000 from Innohub and Wangara Capital to purchase equipment to scale up production of her natural beverages.
Aside the GrEEn Acceleration Programme that targets matured businesses in the Ashanti and Western Regions, SNV is also rolling out the GrEEn Incubation Programme in partnership with business hubs in these two regions which targets small businesses and start-ups.
