As part of its Danida Business Partnership (DBP), the Danish Embassy seeks new business opportunities to assist local businesses in the country.

The move is to transfer the best of Danish technology, management and knowledge into the Ghanaian market to create employment as well as promote green growth through partnership between Danish and Ghanaian companies.

It is also intended to offer support to partners who have significant impact on development in poor communities during the preparatory and implementation phase of partnership at which Danida is expected to reimburse up to 75 per cent of cost of activities during the implementation phase and 50 per cent of five million Danish Kronner (DKK 5 million) in the preparatory phase.

In line with its West Africa Clean Energy and Environment (WACEE’12) project, the DBP would focus on the energy sector with particular emphasis on increasing the use of green technology, energy efficiency and protection of the environment.

Other sectors include housing, water and waste management, oil and gas, among other sectors of the economy.

Speaking at a meeting dubbed “Matchmaking event 2012, organised by the Danish Embassy in Accra on Monday, the Danish Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Carsten Nilanus Pederson, hinted that the focus on energy was because the country’s environment was under pressure with high deforestation and depleting biodiversity and added that poor waste management and galamsey activities had resulted in polluting most water bodies and agricultural lands under cultivation were dwindling due to rural-urban drift.

According to him, economic growth, coupled with population growth, has caused the demand for energy to soar and that had intensified the pressure on vital natural resources.

To that end, he said there was the need to explore opportunities in energy generation and efficiency as well as water management to address energy and needs and environmental concerns in the country.