Promoting green and sustainable entrepreneurship in Ghana

Accompanying Ghana's continued economic growth in recent years, the country has committed to efforts in climate change mitigation, addressing environmental challenges and transitioning to a green economy. This is reflected in the Ghana National Climate Change Policy of 2013, as well as the Shared Growth and Development Agenda and the National Medium-Term Development Policy Framework (2018-2021). In its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), Ghana defines energy, agriculture and waste, among others, as priority sectors. Addressing these goals and creating new innovations requires not only efforts by public actors but also active engagement by private sector enterprises.

In order to promote the growth and establishment of ecologically and socially sustainable small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the European Union Emergency Trust Fund for Africa funded the project “GrEEn – Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana”, led by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. This project aimed to accompany SMEs through targeted support and mentoring programmes and to anchor the idea of sustainable entrepreneurship in various regions of the country and to promote it through incubation programmes. A critical element was strengthening the broader entrepreneurial ecosystem by training local trainers and business development support providers.

On behalf of SNV, adelphi designed the methods, tools and curriculum for capacity building measures for business development support providers and trainers. In addition, adelphi worked with local colleagues to implement these concepts through tool-based, innovative training-of-trainers workshops as part of a hybrid training model adapted to pandemic conditions.