The ICR Facility is co-funded by the European Union (EU), the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) under the 11th European Development Fund (EDF), together with the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the British Council. It is implemented by GIZ, the British Council, Expertise France, and SNV. This current intervention is implemented by the British Council on behalf of the ICR Facility. The ICR Facility supports public and private stakeholders in ACP countries to improve their investment climate and business environment via public-private dialogue. It therefore contributes to achieving SDG8 in ACP countries: Promote inclusive and sustainable economic growth, employment, and decent work for all.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, Irene Danquah, the Programme Manager of the ICR Facility on behalf of the British Council, which is an implementing partner of the ICR Facility, said “We are happy to be working in collaboration with SE Ghana and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) to provide technical assistance to strengthen the existing dialogue platforms to enable SE Ghana take the draft policy through a series of public-private dialogues and mainstream it into other government policies. And to build capacity for SE Ghana to pursue business environment reforms and support social enterprises in Ghana. It is great to see a public-private engagement on the topic of social enterprise”.
Irene Danquah added that, “We are hoping that by the end of this intervention, there will be a finalised Ghana Social Enterprise Policy that SE Ghana and the Ministry of Trade and Industry can use to create a more inclusive and sustainable business environment. And SE Ghana would have been strengthened to participate in policy development and advocacy, supporting its members and has become a sustainable BMO.”
Ofori Asante Agyei, the Principal Commercial Officer of the Ministry of Trade and Industry in his remarks said the government welcomes laudable interventions such as the ICR Facility which are relevant to spur on local businesses.
He said the government has already rolled out various programmes aimed at creating a conducive environment for social enterprises but there is the need to do more especially through further collaboration and dialogue.
He added that capacity building and technology acquisition is an expensive venture, so the government is seeking to collaborate with organisations, such as the British Council, to achieve its manpower development programmes
“As a government, we see this ICR Facility as a timely intervention because as we see, COVID has already put a strain on government’s resources, so we value these private partnerships aimed at improving the capacities of private businesses.”
Edwin Zu-Cudjoe, the Executive Director of SE Ghana gave assurances that the lot of young social entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with disability will be improved at the end of the project implementation.
With the ICR Facility coinciding with SE Ghana’s 5th anniversary, he said the project presents “a reinvigorated energy to advance the social enterprise policy effort and improve the environment which enables small-businesses, social enterprises to thrive.”
Edwin Zu-Cudjoe indicated that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative effect on most social enterprises which brings up the need to strategize and seek key partnerships with organisations that appreciate the work of social enterprises and are willing to support them for shared prosperity.
It is in view of the above that Social Enterprise Ghana reached out to the ICR Facility for support and the general social enterprise ecosystem is hopeful that the interventions from the ICR Facility will help improve the business environment for social enterprises and help drive impact investment to them.
Social Enterprise Ghana (SE Ghana) is the national network for high-impact social entrepreneurs in Ghana. SE Ghana has a current membership of 720 social enterprises operating in diverse sectors of climate-smart agribusiness, circular economy, health services, inclusive financial services, TVET and education. SE Ghana advocates for business-friendly policies for social enterprises and supports members with training, research, access to skills, access to market, access to technology and access to finance. SE Ghana has a goal of increasing funding to social enterprises by catalysing $1billion dollars for social enterprises in Ghana by 2030.
