Twelve (12) Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs) across Ghana have successfully enhanced the quality of their business support programmes through the ESO Collaborative’s SCALE Quality Improvement Programme, an innovative initiative designed to strengthen programme and enterprise support quality in Enterprise Support Organizations (ESOs) and Business Development Services (BDS) across the country. The 12 selected to pilot the programme , WOMEN’S HAVEN AFRICA, Tarkwa Entrepreneurship Development Hub, iValley Ghana, Dansyn Innovation Social Organisation (Dansyn ISO), Noni Hub, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Evaluation Development, Foundation Developers Academy LBG, iSpace Foundation, WAN-Hive Ghana, The Fabulous Woman Network, SUNCITY Hub, and Agrico Hub each received a grant of GHS 22,800.00 to implement their Quality Improvement Action Plans developed from their SCALE Diagnosis and Needs Assessment conducted with a Technical Assistance they received.
Grounded in the findings of the 2022 Catalytic Capital Investment report and the Ghana ESO Forum 2022, the SCALE tool developed by the Argidius Foundation was adopted to assess ESO programme quality. It focuses on five essential areas for ESO success: selecting the right enterprises, charging for services, problem-solving, learning from enterprise performance evaluations, and leading by example. The participating enterprises worked closely with consultants to co-create tailored recommendations and participated in specialized training sessions focused on key aspects of their action plans with their consultants.
Mohammed Suhuyini Zakaria, Program Manager for ESO Collaborative, has said that by integrating these principles, ESOs can redesign their programming to better support entrepreneurs and their businesses, ensuring they are investor-ready, scalable, and capable of achieving strong performance.’
Gifty Volimkarime Kuug, Director, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Evaluation Development (CEED) ’’Crucial in shaping the future for impact.’’
Nabil Mahama, Executive Director, iValley Ghana, ‘’At iValley, our Quality Improvement efforts under the SCALE Programme primarily focused on enhancing our operations and ensuring our programme design is more inclusive of Persons with Disabilities (PWDs). By engaging extensively with PWDs, we gained invaluable insights into their unique challenges, which guided us in adapting our services to better meet their needs. Additionally, we introduced fee payments for certain services, which has helped us to maintain sustainability while continuing to offer high-quality support. This initiative by Impact Investing Ghana has been pivotal in advancing our mission to create a more inclusive and resilient entrepreneurial ecosystem in Ghana.”
As the SCALE Programme continues to make strides in improving ESO effectiveness, the success of these twelve enterprises marks a significant milestone in Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem. The results and learnings from this initiative will be shared at local and international forums, contributing to the broader conversation on enhancing enterprise support across Africa and increasing impact investments into building ESOs and their ecosystems.
We call on ESOs, Development Partners and the Government to join the Ghana ESO Collaborative in our quest to build a resilient and sustainable ecosystem that ensures businesses in Ghana thrive, create employment, and expand to many markets.
About the ESO Collaborative
The Enterprise Support Organisation (ESO) Collaborative was set up to increase the quality and quantity of enterprise support programmes in Ghana. It brings together the government, the Ghana Hubs Network, and other ESOs to collaborate. It has launched a digital platform to help enterprises easily find any ESO programme in Ghana. ESO Collaborative Ghana runs a successful Quality Improvement Program for ESOs using SCALE, a tool developed by the Argidius Foundation. Again, it will launch the ESO Pooled Fund, aimed at providing a sustainable financing solution for ESOs and their supported early-stage businesses, promoting long-term operational and strategic support across strategic thematic social impact areas. The collaborative is also working on a shared common language module to help facilitate collaboration through a common language in the ecosystem.
About Impact Investing Ghana
Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) is the Ghana National Advisory Board for Impact Investing. We are an independent private-sector-led initiative promoting sustainable development and advancing the development of the impact investment ecosystem in Ghana. Established as a nonprofit, IIGh is Ghana’s representative to the Global Steering Group (GSG) for Impact Investing. The GSG’s National Advisory Boards (NABs) currently cover over 40 countries and provide a global platform to drive investment and increase visibility for its members globally. IIGh aims at tackling Ghana’s pressing social and environmental challenges by driving more capital to deliver real impact. We are a local platform representing all the stakeholder groups needed to redirect significant capital flows towards social and environmental impact. Private-sector led, yet in close partnership with the national government, we raise awareness, create market intelligence, change policies, and mobilise additional financial resources for public good. IIGh brings together leaders from the worlds of finance, business, government, social organisations and philanthropy. IIGh has an ambitious plan to support the growth of impact ventures and to catalyse $1billion in impact funds for investment in impact ventures in Ghana and the West African sub-region.