Impact investors step in to fast-track research commercialisation                        

By Joshua Worlasi AMLANU

Impact investors are stepping up efforts to bridge the gap between academic research and commercial application, a challenge long seen as a drag on innovation-led growth in the country.

At the 2025 Ghana Research Industry Collaborative (GRIC) Forum, stakeholders highlighted the need to move beyond producing research papers to translating findings into profitable products and services. The forum, now in its third year, brings together researchers, universities and industry players to explore ways of scaling research solutions for business and society.

“Too much of our research ends up on shelves,” said Ama Lartey, CEO-Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) and GRIC Steering Committee Member. “The goal is to get it into businesses so we can have more innovative and profitable enterprises.”

Impact Investing Ghana, which convenes the forum, has created a platform to simplify research outputs for business audiences, stripping away technical jargon and highlighting potential financial returns.

Ms. Lartey said more than 100 research projects have been reformatted into “industry-friendly” language. About a dozen have been presented at briefings to over 600 businesses, with six now moving toward commercialisation.

Examples include agricultural innovations such as artificial intelligence tools to improve traceability in the cocoa sector and research to extend food shelf-life. Agriculture and agribusiness dominate the early successes, reflecting Ghana’s economic structure.

Still, funding remains a major bottleneck. Most commercialisation work is supported by grants, with limited private capital flowing to early-stage research.

Ms. Lartey said government’s newly-launched National Research Fund, the proposed Startup bill and trade and industrial policy initiatives could expand financing opportunities for researchers and businesses.

Government also sees research as central to economic transformation. Reverend Dr. Cephas Adjei Mensah, Director of Research, Statistics and Information Management at the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology, said policy alignment will be crucial to avoid fragmented initiatives.

“We want to use research as a tool to enhance the economy,” he said, adding that government will push for closer collaboration between research institutions and industry.

The forum’s evolution over three years underscores incremental progress. The first year focused on identifying challenges, the second introduced industry briefings and the third showcased concrete commercialisation cases.

Ms. Lartey said the goal now is to scale. “We are looking forward to moving from six commercialised projects to 20, 100 and beyond,” she said.