By Mildred Siabi-Mensah
Takoradi, Aug. 22, GNA – Some women led businesses, trained under the SNV GrEEn Incubation project, have lauded the project financiers for the training, which they said have impacted tremendously their fields of endeavour.
The women indicated that the numerous informative sessions, exposure to rules in local and international trade as well as market linkages to sell their product was a worthwhile experience.
These women expressed their appreciation during a GrEEn trade show organized by the SNV Netherlands Development Organization to showcase achievement in the green space at Takoradi recently.
These women showcased their products, services, and interventions to prospective clients as cocoa products and food additives exporting company while Mending Papers showed impressed designs of paper bags.
The GrEEn Regional Trade Show was part of the Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project being implemented by SNV Ghana and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), with funding support from the European Union and the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana.
Ms Gifty Gyebi, the Chief Executive Officer of GoldRanch Trading Enterprise, in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), on the impact of the training, was full of praise for the opportunity, which she described as “insightful.”
She continued: “I have particularly learnt a lot about the Circular Economy and how we can turn our waste to other uses to generate incomes as well as operate in an environmentally friendly manner.”
Ms Gyebi added that the introduction to regulatory bodies had also helped her to know where exactly to go for any kind of services.
Madam Joana Ama Arthur, Founder of Mending Papers, expressed gratitude to the SNV and its partners for providing business advisory to support the growth of SMEs like hers.
She said: “I initially had the idea of crafting paper bags from maize husk and dried plantain stems, but the start-up was a bit difficult, but through SNV’s interventions I have realized my dream.”
She noted that her idea was to help reduce plastic waste pollution through paper bags in her community and the country.
The GrEEn project is a four-year initiative that sought to create greater economic and employment opportunities for the youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable green businesses.
It also sought to provide employable skills training to youth job seekers in two selected regions, including Ashanti and Western.
A total of 68 SMEs with 39 who had graduated from SNV’s six-month GrEEn Incubation and GrEEn Acceleration Programmes, an initiative that provided business advisory support to green and eco-inclusive businesses and entrepreneurs, exhibited their products and services to prospective clients.
GNA