Densu Associates, a purpose-driven organisation based in Africa and North America, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has organised a stakeholders’ engagement meeting to assess the needs and priority areas that will create an enabling environment for the success of social entrepreneurs in Ghana, as part of the implementation of its Social Enterprise Accelerator (SEA) Program.
The Social Enterprise Accelerator program, according to the Executive Director of Densu Associates, Madam Dolores Dickson, is dynamically designed to support young women leading social enterprises and social enterprises focusing on women.
Speaking at the engagement meeting held at the Ibis Styles Hotel in Accra on Tuesday, August 13, 2024 Madam Dolores Dickson emphasised that the SEA program also seeks to create a robust ecosystem for social entrepreneurs, particularly women, to thrive.
“Social enterprises play a critical role in addressing social, economic and environmental challenges. In Ghana, there are approximately 115,500 social enterprises, many of which are micro and small enterprises and face barriers such as difficulties in obtaining funding, lack of access to advisory services and limited technical skills,” the Executive Director of Densu Associates explained.
The SEA program, which is in the pilot phase, Madam Dolores Dickson noted, will comprehensively tackle the identified challenges by providing tailored support to enable social enterprises to expand their reach, attract new clients, create jobs and secure investments.
“This program has two primary objectives: Provide Tailored Support to Social Entrepreneurs: This initiative will provide financial support and 12 months of tailored comprehensive support to selected social enterprises, enabling them to grow into sustainable and impactful ventures.
Strengthen the Ecosystem: The program aims to enhance Densu Associates’ capacity to drive a robust ecosystem for social entrepreneurs in Ghana, promoting a conducive environment for their growth and success.”
The stakeholder engagement meeting brought together over 50 key stakeholders, including policymakers, government officials, business development service providers, social innovators and entrepreneurs, as well as financial institutions and investors, all within the social entrepreneurship ecosystem.
Madam Dolores Dickson revealed that the SEA program was informed by a recent nationwide study by Densu Associates, which highlighted the strong desire among young people in Ghana for work that positively impacts society.
“Over the next three years, we expect the participating social enterprises to expand their reach, ultimately impacting over 1,200 individuals,” she said.
She said that it is the priority of her organization to build the capacity of more women and provide them with the right support to become leaders of the social enterprise sector in Ghana.
Meanwhile, it was revealed at the meeting that Ghana currently does not have a national policy to govern the social enterprises sector, which is the very reason why it is difficult for industry players to have access to funding or investors to grow their enterprises.
From Edmond Gyebi
