Innovation for Our Future – The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre’s Incubating Innovation 2020 commences

Ashesi University’s Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) commences its annual thought leadership programme, Incubating Innovation.  Incubating Innovation’s series of forums, workshops and seminars focused on the entrepreneurial ecosystem, climate innovation, the green economy and building a climate-resilient economy commences on Monday 2^nd March 2020 and will culminate in the Centre’s flagship annual symposium on Thursday 19^th March 2020.

Incubating Innovation 2020 convenes policy makers, Government officials, development partners, academic institutions, entrepreneurs and financial institutions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to discuss and share insights on actions to foster a robust and responsive innovation based entrepreneurial ecosystem that can deliver an economically prosperous, climate-resilient and sustainable economy.

The symposium theme for this year, Innovation for Our Future, responds to the urgent need for innovation and entrepreneurship to focus on sustainability; and highlights the role of organizations such as the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre in catalyzing responsible entrepreneurship that grows the economy whilst also securing the world for future generations.  There is an urgent need to build stewardship of the environment and the ecology into all our thinking, from policy making to the economy, the business sector and consumer patterns.  The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre convenes Incubating Innovation to inform, connect and engage on all of these variables.

This year’s edition of Incubating Innovation varies from previous editions in that it is comprised of a series of events and activities as opposed to a singular symposium.  These events include a series of public lectures, workshops, climate action bootcamps, women entrepreneurs in the green economy convening, and a tree planting exercise with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly.  Details of the events include:

1. State of the Entrepreneurial Ecosystem on 2^nd March.   The event will launch and start Incubating Innovation 2020, highlight the key characteristics, challenges as well as the successes of Ghana’s teeming entrepreneurial ecosystem. The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre’s Investor Portal will be launched during the event, a response to one of the solutions to the access to finance challenge within the entrepreneurship ecosystem.

2. There is a Green Alternative, 5^th March is a 3-part lecture to highlight climate-smart, climate-responsive, green alternatives to our current ways of treating and managing waste, powering our nation, and feeding our people.

3. Green Ghana, 7^th March a tree planting exercise to be held in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly, to mark Ghana’s 63^rd Independence Celebration and to encourage personal climate action amongst the citizenry.

4. Green Entrepreneurship – the Role of Women, 9^th March as part of International Women’s Day 2020 celebrations. It is a forum for women entrepreneurs in our community, thought leaders, and women and men in business which highlights the work, innovations and role and contribution of women in Ghana’s economic development and the green economy.

5. Breaking Business Barriers – Doing It Right. 11^th March. GCIC will host a workshop for SMEs, which focuses on breaking known barriers in the value chain of operating and scaling a business.  GCIC’s Market Analytics reports will also be launched as part of the workshop activities.

6. Youth in Innovation – Bootcamp and Green Pitch, 17^th March a bootcamp on business pitching for 50 pre-selected youth entrepreneurs from tertiary institutions around the country.

7. Incubating Innovation 2020 Symposium: Innovation for Our Future, 19^th March the symposium will convene policy makers, Government officials, development partners, academic institutions, entrepreneurs and financial institutions in the entrepreneurial ecosystem to discuss and share insights on actions to foster a robust and responsive innovation based entrepreneurial ecosystem that can deliver an economically prosperous, climate-resilient and sustainable economy

The third annual Incubating Innovation series of programmes is expected to inform on and to inspire greater climate action from across the entrepreneurial ecosystem, and inter alia, place sustainable entrepreneurship at the forefront of socio-economic development while leading the charge in protecting the environment for future generations.

Founded in 2016, GCIC is a pioneering business incubator with a unique focus of developing SME ventures and entrepreneurs in Ghana’s ‘Green Economy’. Our mission is to develop and support an exceptional set of transformational ventures and entrepreneurs who are pioneering adaptive and mitigating solutions for climate change issues in Ghana. We do this with a focus on five key economic sectors (energy efficiency & renewable energy; solar power; climate smart agriculture; domestic waste management; water management and purification), the provision of premium business advisory and business mentoring services, technical support in the development, prototyping and testing of their innovation, as well as financial Proof of Concept grants to qualifying SMEs within our incubator.

GCIC has so far incubated over 80 green businesses making great social, economic and environmental strides today. These businesses have together worked to avoid about 1,100 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, raised over $US1.79 million in early and growth stage financing, and raked in more than US$1.63 million in revenue.

GCIC is funded by a grant from the Governments of Denmark and the Netherlands through the World Bank, and is managed by a consortium led by Ashesi University, and including Ernst and Young, SNV Ghana and the United Nations University. The Consortium offers the perfect mix of experience and excellence in private sector development, climate change, entrepreneurship, education and training, and research and development know-how.