As the shift toward greener and more sustainable economies deepens globally, young entrepreneurs in the green business space in the country are being encouraged to build and leverage synergies to thrive.
According to the Lead Person on Green Entrepreneurs at Strategic Youth Network for Development (SYND), Maxwell Beganim, a key missing element in the emerging green business space locally is collaboration. This, he noted, is slowing the ability of these green businesses to grow.
Against this backdrop, he observed that there is a need to build a youth chamber that brings young green entrepreneurs together to work toward contributing to economic development, through the provision of green solutions.
Mr. Beganim, who spoke on the side-lines of a capacity-building workshop for SYND’s young green entrepreneurs, stressed that collaborating in the green business space is very important.
Furthermore, he entreated young entrepreneurs to join available cohorts to receive training and exposure to develop their businesses.
The SYND capacity-building workshop was organised under the theme ‘Building a Resilient and Adaptable Green Business in Line with SDG7, SE4All, REMP and Ghana’s NDCs’.
The programme, among other things, sought to expose and strengthen the knowledge of participants on the workings of green business operations, local and international funding opportunities, the policy space and identifying areas to build partnerships.
Mr. Beganim noted that the workshop, which forms part of a 12-month-long incubation programme and activities, will further help participants to also become investor-ready. The selected young entrepreneurs are thus being taken through carefully planned activities to realise these objectives, he added.
The Senior Associate and Project Manager of The Challengers Group – Ghana, Prince Kelly Anyomitse, who also spoke at the event, said regardless of business classifications, sustainability is an important element to every business operation and growth.
Among others, he said: “Green businesses must find a way of marketing their products, getting people who are interested in buying it, and identifying ways that they can become useful alternatives to products in the markets that are harming the environment”.
He also encouraged green business operators not to entirely focus on funding but prioritise record-keeping, which makes it viable for interested parties to invest in such emerging businesses.
Mr. Anyomitse further asserted that the opportunities and value that green businesses offer are not common among other business classifications since they focus on both profit and making a positive impact on the environment.
He was, therefore, optimistic that the government and other relevant stakeholders will create the needed platform to train young green entrepreneurs in the country
