SMEs encouraged to consider climate-smart businesses
Madam Ruka Sanusi, the Executive Director of the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC), has asked Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to consider imbibing climate-smart strategies in their operations.
She explained that climate friendly strategies would enable the country to adapt to climate vulnerability and fulfil its global commitment and contribute to achieving sustainable development.
“The world is moving towards climate friendly innovations in the area of energy efficiency, solar power, climate-smart agriculture, domestic waste management, and water management and purification,” she said.
Briefing journalists at the end of the GCIC’s 2022 National Green Business Roadshow in the Ashanti and Western regions, Madam Sanusi said the Centre had a bouquet of services, including technical and financial services it offered to businesses.
The roadshows, held on the theme: “GreenNovate,” seeks to inspire and motivate small and growing businesses to either start climate-smart innovative businesses or deepen their operations and strategies to scale up their green business.
A total of 123 SMEs participated in the roadshows in both regions, with 44 of them being female-owned enterprises.
As part of the Masterclass session, they were taken through the level of readiness required to potentially participate in the GCIC business incubator.
Mr Dramani Bukari, the Director of Partnership, Entrepreneurship, and Investments, GCIC, said some investors were ready to fund climate friendly innovations and support the global objective of transitioning to a lower carbon pathway.
The Centre’s incubation provided support to larger SMEs who were rethinking their processes and operations in a bid to be more sustainable.
He said the roadshows were targeted at businesses, which had operated for at least three years, and generated a minimum revenue of GH¢100,000 annually.
The GCIC leadership also engaged a number of public and private sector leaders and institutions in the regions, including chief directors of the regional coordinating councils and heads of institutions in the two regions.
The GCIC is a pioneering national business incubator with a unique focus on developing SMEs in Ghana’s ‘Green Economy’.
Its mission is to develop and support an exceptional set of transformational ventures and entrepreneurs pioneering adaptive and mitigating solutions for climate change issues in Ghana.
The GCIC is an institute of Ashesi University and is currently funded by a grant from Global Affairs Canada.
The Centre, with partners EY Ghana, offers a unique combination of experience and excellence in private sector development, climate change, entrepreneurship, education and training, and research and development know-how.
Source: GNA