Accra, Oct. 20, GNA- Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana and across Sub-Saharan Africa are finding it difficult to gain a foothold and grow.
According to the World Bank, SMEs in Ghana face an estimated financing gap of USD 4.8 billion, compared to almost USD 331 billion across sub-Saharan Africa.
To address this, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Innohub Foundation have now launched the “Ghana SME Impact Investment Support (GSIIS) Project”. The project aims to promote sustainable economic growth and create decent jobs in Ghanaian SMEs.
Ghana, in recent times, has experienced steady growth in impact investments in SMEs. Impact funds are paying increasing attention to the innovative capacity of Ghanaian SMEs and their potential to contribute to social and environmental sustainability.
The funds sometimes seek to provide more support beyond investment capital to allow investee companies to pursue their growth plans as well as achieve the intended results of the investments.
However, they are not always able to commit sufficient resources to provide post-investment technical assistance for the ventures.
In response to this, the GSIIS project has been designed to provide pre- or post-investment assistance for 10 – 15 investee companies of impact investors in Ghana over 18 months.
The one-on-one support offered by experts is needs-based and includes marketing, e-commerce, financial management, human resources, process optimization, resource efficiency, or health & safety.
Commenting on the launch of the GSIIS project, Mr John Duti, the Team Leader of Invest for Jobs at GIZ Ghana, indicated that the combination of private capital injection (provided by the impact investors) and the technical assistance from this initiative is a comprehensive approach which will ensure sustainability in terms of employment and company growth in the long term, beyond the project period.
GSIIS is part of the Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition”, which operates under the brand Invest for Jobs, which is funded by the Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Impact funds and investors Investors/ investment funds are invited to nominate their investee companies at . Further information is available at https://www.innohub.com.gh/gsiis
Under the Invest for Jobs initiative, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has put together a package of measures to support German, European, and African companies in investment activities that have a high impact on employment in Africa.
The Special Initiative “Decent Work for a Just Transition” – the official title – offers comprehensive advice, contacts, and financial support to overcome investment barriers.
The development objective is to team up with companies to create good jobs and improve working conditions and social protection in the eight African partner countries. The Special Initiative is implemented by GIZ and KFW among others.
The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is a German development agency that provides services in the field of international development cooperation.
GIZ mainly implements technical cooperation projects of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), its main commissioning party.
It also works with the private sector and other national and supranational government organizations on a public benefit basis.
In its activities, GIZ seeks to follow the sustainable development paradigm, which aims at balancing economic development with social inclusion and environmental protection.
GIZ offers consulting and capacity-building services in a wide range of areas, including management consulting, rural development, sustainable infrastructure, security and peacebuilding, social development, governance and democracy, environment and climate change, and economic development and employment. www.giz.de/en
Innohub is a Business Accelerator and Impact Investment Platform that helps Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) with high growth and impact potential to become investment-ready, sustainable, and scalable to achieve profitability and social impact.
Innohub focuses on bridging the existing gap between SGBs and impact investors and seeks to address this through integrated innovation. Innohub is the sponsor of SME finance vehicles such as Wangara Green Ventures Capital Fund and the Accra Angels Network. www.innohub.com.gh
GNA