Ghana to get $17.2m World Bank Climate Innovation Centre
A World Bank-financed Climate Innovation Centre (CIC) is to be launched in Accra during the second quarter of 2016, to support Ghana’s green growth strategy – the National Climate Change Policy, led by the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation.
According to the World Bank, the centre, financed by a $17.2 million World Bank grant, would be established at the Ashesi University College in Berekuso and “will help more than 100 local clean technology companies develop and scale innovative solutions to climate change.”
The grant agreement was signed by Henry Kerali, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, and Patrick Awuah, Founder and President of Ashesi University College.
The Ghana CIC is part of the World Bank’s Climate Technology Programme, under which other centres have been established in Kenya, Ethiopia, the Caribbean, South Africa, Morocco, and Vietnam.
“The Ghana CIC will help over 300,000 Ghanaians increase resilience to climate change in the next ten years. Furthermore, through its support to local clean technology ventures, the center is expected to mitigate 660,000 tons of CO2 and contribute to the production of over 260 million kWh of clean energy”, the World Bank said.
The CIC is supported by the Danish and Dutch governments and will be managed by a consortium led by the Ashesi University College with Ernst & Young, SNV Netherlands Development Organization, and the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.
By Emmanuel Odonkor