[Accra- September 19, 2023] The Ghana Enterprise Support Organisation (ESO) Collaborative has launched an innovative online platform, https://esoghana.org/ to enable entrepreneurs, startups and businesses to easily access information on programs that support their work growth so they can make informed decisions on what programs to participate in. The https://esoghana.org/ launched at the 2nd Ghana ESO Forum under the theme “Building a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem towards inclusive growth and sustainable businesses” last week also enables registered ESOs to list programmes, assess and improve the quality of their programmes using feedback provided by businesses that have gone through their programme, and track their own progress using the SCALE Assessment tool developed by the Argidius Foundation.
In 2022, the ESO Collaborative, hosted by Impact Investing Ghana, was formed and brought together the Ghana Hubs Network, National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program, Ghana Enterprises Agency, Social Enterprise Ghana, Innohub, MBC Africa, Reach for Change, Mirepa Capital, Centre for Entrepreneurship and Evaluation Development, MEST Africa, ITC and KIC, and other enterprise support organizations that saw a lack of collaboration between members of the ecosystem. At the first forum, the collaborative developed an action plan and decided to build an online platform to provide Ghanaian SMEs with a simple way to access all the many support programs and resources available in Ghana. A year later, the platform hosts about 50 enterprise support organizations with investment readiness, sales, marketing, and many other practical support programs listed.
The Chairperson of the Ghana Hub Network, Mr. Josiah Eyison said it was time to trust in the systems put in place for the ESOs. Get together. Get us involved. Competition is great, but collaboration gets the work done. We can make a much greater impact together than when we set out to work individually. The network was represented by Noni Hub, iValley Ghana, Node Eight, 131 Sunflower Hub, Tedhub, TECHFARM HUB, Tentmaker Ghana Hub, Think Hub Ghana, WAN-HIVE GHANA, Whizzy Innovation Hub (Whizzy Academy), Women’s Haven Africa, Yison Tech Hub, AfriTech Hub, Coral Reef Innovation Hub, Crescendo Foods, Dansyn Innovation Social Organisation (Dansyn ISO), Duapa Werkspace, Eastern Tech Hub, hapaSpace Innovation Hub, Fab Hub Ashanti, Ghana Innovation Hub, iSpace Foundation, and ICODE GH).
The Ghana ESO Forum 2023 also featured a workshop on SCALE developed by the Argidius Foundation, offering Enterprise Support Organisations (ESOs) and funders guidance to implement evidence-based practices that boost small business growth and job creation.
CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Amma Lartey, in her welcome address, encouraged all ESOs present, saying, “We have made tremendous progress since 2022. We now have the government, through NEIP, investing over $7 million in innovation hubs, a shared digital platform launched, and a quality improvement program for ESOs underway. While we still have challenges, we need to celebrate the successes and progress to give us the energy to accomplish even more.”
Kofi Nkansah, CEO of the National Entrepreneurship & Innovation Programme (NEIP), added that “over the past few years, the Government has had a theme to build a sustainable and entrepreneurial nation to achieve physical consolidation to build jobs. This theme aligns with the ESO Collaborative’s goal of building inclusive growth and sustainable business, and we are happy to support it.”
Gameli Adzaho, Country Technical Lead for the Research and Innovation Systems for Africa (RISA) Fund of UK International Development stated, “The work of the ESO Collaborative cannot be understated. Its work so far aligns with the ecosystem-strengthening goal, in particular our goal of nurturing a culture supportive of research, innovation, and entrepreneurship. It also aligns with our country’s priorities in Ghana, as Ghana proves to be a hub of enterprises, businesses, and ideas.”
Businesses and enterprise support organizations can sign up at https://esoghana.org/ to get information on enterprise support programs in Ghana or to list a program.
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. IIGh is Ghana’s representative to the Global Steering Group (GSG) for Impact Investing and a member of the Africa Impact Investing Group. IIGh is supporting the growth of impact ventures and catalyzing $ 1 billion in impact funds for investment in Ghana and the West African sub-region. Find more here: www.impactinvestinggh.org
About the ESO Collaborative
ESO Collaborative is a collective of ESOs in Ghana working together to develop a sustainable business environment in Ghana by engaging in important ESO ecosystem discussions and initiatives that propel meaningful growth and investment into the space.
About the Ghana Hub Network
Ghana Hubs Network (GHN), is a community network of over 63 innovation hubs across all 16 regions of Ghana committed to the growth of entrepreneurship and startup development. The hubs do this by providing ideation, incubation, acceleration support services, technical support, investment readiness, and funding.
Our mission is to support the growth and development of the Ghanaian innovation ecosystem by providing our members with the resources and support they need to succeed.