A total of 50 Ghanaian entrepreneurs of primarily small businesses, are expected to benefit from both technical and financial support of up to €9,000 each.

This is through a German Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) named enpact e.V, which has set up a COVID-19 Relief Programme aimed at assisting Ghanaian businesses to contribute to an economic upswing, as well as preserve and create jobs in the wake of the pandemic.

The programme dubbed: “Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative” has begun calling for applications from the Ghanaian business community as it seeks to invite young and innovative business entrepreneurs from all sectors to apply for funding under its COVID-19 Relief Programme.

Any business in its early stages that had a functioning and promising business model before the COVID-19 crisis erupted is eligible to apply.

The move aims at dealing with the negative effects the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) has impacted in the business space that has forced a number of businesses to either lay off workers or shut down completely.

The project aims to support applicants in coping with the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis.

“With this initiative, we are able to go above and beyond for young, innovative Ghanaian [business] founders and support them in these challenging times, not only financially, but also network and mentoring for each business”. says Ernest Armah, Project Lead for Ghana.

In a release from the GIZ and copied to Goldstreet Business, it noted that the “Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative” will provide in total nearly €3million to 330 founding teams across six countries namely; Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, and Mexico.

The GIZ Country Director to Ghana, Ms. Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, stated that her outfit recognizes the extent of impact the COVID-19 has had on businesses and this largely accounts for the reason GIZ is supporting this initiative to help empower young businesses and position them firmly amid the virus.

“One thing the pandemic has taught us is to look beyond the norm and picture how things could be. Therefore, I urge all beneficiaries of this initiative to not just rely on the support we can give, but to continue to look for innovative and creative ways to grow and scale”, she stressed.

Background

The COVID-19 Relief Programme is being supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), with funding from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The Strategic Partnership Technology in Africa (SPTA) is working in cooperation with enpact e.V to implement the programme.

Enpact e.V. launched its activities in West Africa in 2017 and has since implemented several international and national mentoring programmes for entrepreneurs, along with the launch of a physical hub in Accra to host programmes for ecosystem enablers and support organisations to build the Ghanaian startup ecosystem.