UBA Ghana and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to support youth and women-led micro-, small- and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana.
The partnership is expected to scale up youth and women-led MSMEs, increase jobs, drive revenue and contribute significantly toward t reduction of environmental footprints.
It will also help to access climate financing schemes and increase financial inflows from climate funding channels, in order to support Ghana’s efforts at turning climate commitments into actions.
By this partnership, UNDP and UBA Ghana will co-develop and implement a suite of innovative programmes and mechanisms to strengthen the institutional capacity of UBA Ghana to access climate financing schemes, including the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
The Managing Director-UBA Ghana and Regional Chief Executive Officer-UBA West Africa, Chris Ofikulu, highlighted the partnership’s significance – pointing out that the partnership is a welcome development as UBA Ghana specialises in providing innovative financing to businesses, including SMEs.
He said: “Collaborating with the UNDP demonstrates UBA Ghana’s commitment to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a particular focus on providing custom financial solutions and growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes to facilitate inter- and intra-African trade”.
He explained that the businesses will also receive a tailored programme of service support and capacity development – in areas including corporate governance, branding, marketing, financial support and product design/development – enabling easier access to markets for their products and services. They will also be supported with energy efficiency audits and remedial actions to minimise their carbon footprints.
The UNDP Resident Representative in Ghana, Dr. Angela Lusigi said: “The UNDP is working to influence the flow of resources toward development by encouraging investors and businesses of all sizes to embed the SDGs and Climate action into their analytics, decision-making and business practices,” she added.
The UNDP boss explained that the MoU will promote Inclusive, Resilient and Green Entrepreneurship by leveraging UNDP’s expertise in working with MSMEs and innovators, and UBA Ghana’s expertise in supporting businesses.
