By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Sept. 28, GNA – The Netherlands Development Organisation (SNV) has commenced a six-day regional trade show for products, services, and inventions of its green businesses project in the Ashanti Region.
The show is part of the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project, which the SNV is implementing in collaboration with the United Nations Capital Development Fund.
It is being funded by the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana.
A total of 59 Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), who are either enrolled or have graduated from SNV’s six months GrEEn Incubation and Acceleration Programmes, are exhibiting their products and services.
These programmes provide business advisory support to green and eco-inclusive businesses and entrepreneurs to use production methods that do not harm the environment, are eco-friendly or make use of waste materials.
SNV Ghana partnered the Ghana Export Promotion Centre, Association of Ghana Industries, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre and the Ministry of Trade and Industry to organise the trade shows.
Mr Laouali Sadda, the Project Manager of the GrEEn Project, at the opening of the show in Kumasi, said the project was to support the youth in micro, small and medium enterprises to create decent and sustainable jobs, and promote green products and services to boost the local economy.
He said the trade show was intended to stimulate sharing and exchanges within the circular economy.
Mr Sadda said the participating businesses were from SNV’s three sectors – agriculture, renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH).
He was optimistic that the show would increase the sales and boost the production of the enterprise participants and expand their market opportunities and the networks between key actors of the ecosystem.
Mr Sadda said the GrEEn Project aimed at creating economic and employment opportunities for the youth, women and returning migrants, by promoting sustainable green businesses and providing employable skills to job seekers in the Ashanti and Western regions.
GrEEn is being implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa with a total contribution of EUR 20,600,000.
Ms Emmanuella Bema Appiah, the Founder of Green Ecoworks and beneficiary of the incubation programme, expressed appreciation to SNV Ghana for extending business advisory services to SMEs.
She told the Ghana News Agency that her business was to recycle plastic waste into furniture products to reduce environmental pollution.
She said they collected plastic wastes and molded them into furniture, construction and interior designs to ensure environmental sustainability to achieve national developmental goals.
GNA
