Some players in the start-up space have re-echoed the importance of a cohesive and strong ecosystem to drive growth, address unemployment issues and make a significant economic contribution.
While acknowledging the ecosystem’s continuous growth, stakeholders who spoke at the Ghana Startup Stakeholders Assembly in Accra argued that as players continue to work in silos, this could hinder transformation, drive and expansion in the space.
They collectively agreed that a change in the narrative will stimulate development of the many emerging start-ups and allow already-existing innovation hubs to be properly nurtured and harnessed; and that a well-positioned start-up ecosystem will considerably support efforts to move the economy into its next stage.
National Project Coordinator for the Netherlands Trust Fund V Project at International Trade Centre, Isaac Newton Acquah, speaking at the event said though stakeholders in the ecosystem are very connected to each other in many ways they continue to work in silos, a situation that he says is not encouraging.
Steady growth
He noted that the start-up ecosystem has experienced steady and promising growth over the years, and that a survey dubbed ‘the state of the ecosystem’ in 2022 showed an increase in the number of hubs supporting start-ups in the country.
The report also revealed that there has been an increasing number of ecosystem players acting as enablers, and several start-ups building market-driven products with others expanding to other countries while pursuing growth through mergers and acquisitions.
Association of Ghana Start-ups
The Ghana Stakeholders Assembly seeks to create a platform that brings on board industry players in the start-up space to have a multilevel dialogue on how to collaborate and innovate to create sustainable jobs for youths and assist start-ups to become globally competitive.
The event also saw the unveilling of interim executives for the yet-to-be-launched Association of Ghana Start-ups (AGS) – initially known as the Ghana Start-up Network, and the launch of Start-up Echo Magazine to showcase achievements in the space.
“This will create a platform that showcases start-ups and the players, and what they are doing. And talking about visibility, this is going to consolidate all the gains. We will publish and distribute it free of charge for both digital and hard copies,” Team Lead of the Association, Solomon Adjei, told the B&FT.
He reiterated that the new executives will create a central data system on the start-up ecosystem, and leverage it to drive development and inform progress.
“Data is key, and that is one of the key things we are doing. We want to know who is a start-up in the country and where they are located. And, also, if you are a developing partner, what do you have to offer? We are going to create a central data system for the start-up ecosystem,” Mr. Adjei added.
