Accra, June 06, GNA-The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Société Generale Ghana PLC (SG Ghana) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to encourage and support innovators in Accra.
The support is, especially to small businesses led by youth, women, and persons with disabilities to scale up innovations towards sustainable development.
The partnership aimed at leveraging the expertise and resources of both institutions to provide a tailored programme, including capacity building, mentorship, business to business matching and pitching masterclasses, will enable easy access to investors and markets for products and services.
Madam Angela Lusigi, UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, said partnership played a critical role in accelerating the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.
She said UNDP was committed to working with the private sector and all actors to unlock SDGs aligned investments for greater impact.
She said the partnership was very important as SG Ghana joined forces with the UNDP to support national actions to expand employment opportunities for youth, women and people living with disabilities for shared prosperity.
As part of the partnership, UNDP Accelerator Lab, SG Ghana Innov8 Hub, and SG Home of Business will be leading efforts to co-create opportunities for innovators to thrive and scale-up to penetrate markets beyond the shores of Ghana.
Mr Hakim Ouzzani, the Managing Director of SG Ghana PLC, said the partnership with UNDP Accelerator Lab which had the unique expertise in working with grassroots innovators would not only broaden the Bank’s reach but also its ability to support new initiatives, SMEs, young people, people living with disabilities and innovative startups.
The partnership will leverage UNDP’s expertise in working with grassroots innovators and SG Ghana’s expertise in supporting businesses and entrepreneurs.
Under the agreement, UNDP through its Accelerator Lab and SG Ghana through the Innov8 Hub and the SG Home of Business will run the inclusive Entrepreneurship partnership, taking a pipeline of innovators through capacity building, free use of SG Ghana’s Home of Business and Innov8 Hub Services.
Participating entrepreneurs will include a selection of the 22 grassroot innovators, who will receive funding and technical support through the UNDP Accelerator Lab COVID-19 Innovation Challenge and other innovators and entrepreneurs selected by UNDP.
It is expected that at least 50 per cent of the innovators supported will gain increased traction to scale up their innovations.