EU Project commissions 5 sustainable businesses in the Western Region

• Posted on May 29, 2023May 29, 2023
• by Nana Kwesi Coomson
• Comment

On Thursday, 25th May 2023, the European Union in Ghana-funded, Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) Project, implemented by SNV Netherlands Development Organisation in Ghana concluded its commissioning of five sustainable and eco-friendly businesses in the Western Region.

The week-long activities kicked off in Tarkwa, where Joana Arthur, CEO of Mending Papers Company Ltd a paper and package-making company that processes farm waste such as plantain and banana stems, corn husks and other produce into paper bags and office materials officially commissioned her factory and unveiled a production site, solar dryer, a borehole, and new equipment to scale up her paper production company.

By utilising innovative recycling techniques and sustainable materials, the company aims to reduce waste, conserve natural resources, and promote a circular economy.

One of five (5) businesses from the Western Region to receive a matching grant from the 2021 GrEEn Innovation Challenge by the GrEEn Project, Joana has been able to create jobs and increase production from 50 bags to 300 bags after being awarded a EUR 25,000 (the equivalent of GHS 175,000) matching grant by the European Union as part of the Project.

“I could not have achieved this great feat without the intervention of the GrEEn Project and the EU. Before, Ghana was known as the Gateway to Africa, but we do not hear that these days. Rwanda is now in the limelight, and it is because they have abandoned plastic bags and have adopted the use of paper bags. That is my vision for Ghana and the reason I came up with these eco-friendly alternatives of manufacturing my bags.”

In Tamso in Tarkwa, 34-year-old Joel Antanah, the owner of Antanah Farms, an integrated farm that is nursing poultry birds, catfish and tilapia fingerlings, pigs and crops such as maize, cassava and plantain commissioned an odour-free piggery made possible using a solution known as, Indigenous Micro Organism (IMO) technology and sawdust. Through this solution, Joel decomposes the waste from the pigs which is converted into compost and used as organic fertiliser for his crop. Through the GHS
100,000 grant awarded to Joel from the EU, he is also working on making his own fish feed and pellets.

“I decided to use sawdust as bedding for the pigs because of the environmental impacts of burning. When you go to a sawmill, the sawdust is heaped and burned, some are also washed into the gutters, and this causes harm to the environment. The sawdust beddings have also contributed to the neatness of my pigsty. There is no bad smell when you visit my farm.” stated Joel at the commissioning

“Over the years, I realised that though we needed manure to fertilise our soils, applying the raw pig excrement to the farm was very dangerous as it can sometimes even destroy all the crops around, so this technology not only helps me to keep the smell away but serves as manure for all the crops and vegetables,” he added.

A.A Community Spring Water joined the GrEEn Project and was supported by GHS 80,000 to scale up the business to increase its business operations by providing water to communities in the Aowin Municipality.
At Yiwabra on Tuesday, Amos Arthur, CEO of A.A. Community Spring Water commissioned a solar-powered water production system funded by the European Union and servicing over 350 households in the Yiwabra Nkwanta, Yiwabra and Nyakamam communities affected by illegal mining activities with plans underway to expand into other communities.

Nana Yaa Manu runs Waterforce Ventures and produces organic soap and has increased her capacity from 20 pieces to 1,800 weekly supplies and launched a new production site from a GHS 95,000 grant provided to her as part of the GrEEn Project and is employing over 32 job seekers and women in the Kejabil community where the production site is located.

Through training provided by the GrEEn project and its partners, Ms. Manu has obtained an Exporter’s Certificate and is now successfully exporting her products. “I have started exporting some of my soaps to Nigeria, some parts of South Africa, and London. There are individuals who take the soaps to London for use in their enterprises and I aim to establish a more stable market base in London, allowing me to expand my exports and contribute to sustainable practices on a global scale.”

Jesse Roland Prah is one of the local rice producers in the Shama District in the Western Region who has been supported by the GrEEn Innovation Challenge. Provided a EUR 25,000 grant from the European Union, Roland Rice commissioned a newly constructed rice processing facility on a two-acre land in Anto on Thursday, 25th May 2023.

Equipped with a rice mill, de-stoner, a rice de-husker, polisher and a pelletiser machine to convert the rice husk into feed for pigs, the commissioning was attended by representatives from SNV Ghana, the Western Regional Minister and a high-level delegation from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

The factory is expected to create jobs for youth in the District and would also provide local rice growers access to a mill to improve rice production in the region.

All 5 entrepreneurs, aside from receiving grants from the GrEEn Project, are also graduates of the Project’s 6-month GrEEn Incubation Programme.

The GrEEn Incubation Programme, implemented in partnership with hub partners of the GrEEn Project in the Western Region: Duapa Werkspace, Uhub from the University of Mines and Technology and Social Entrepreneurship (SE) Hub Ghana targets sustainable start-ups and early-stage businesses and provides business advisory support services, market access and linkages as well as financial support.

Entrepreneurs who complete the GrEEn Incubation Programme are eligible to receive
matching grants of up to EUR 25,000. Currently, 27 green entrepreneurs have received
matching grants under the challenge.

About SNV
SNV Netherlands Development Organisation is a not-for-profit international development organisation that makes a lasting difference in the lives of people living in poverty by helping them raise incomes and access basic services. SNV specialises in three sectors: agri-food, energy and water systems and is present in over 25 countries. SNV has been working in Ghana since 1992.

About GrEEn Project
The Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a four-year action from the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).

The project aims at creating greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable, green businesses and providing employable skills training to youth job seekers in two selected regions in Ghana: Ashanti and Western in partnership with the Ministry of Local Government, Decentralisation and Rural Development.
GrEEn is implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa with a total contribution of EUR 20,600,000.

The GrEEn Project has 4 result areas: SNV handles Results 2 and 4 and UNCDF handles Result 1 and 3. Under Result 4, SNV works at providing incubation and acceleration services to entrepreneurs and business owners who are in the green and circular economy. The 6-month training is carried out by SNV’s business hub partners in the two regions: Recycle Up! Ghana and Women’s Haven Africa in the Ashanti Region, and U-hub from the University of Mines and Technology-Tarkwa, Social Entrepreneurship
(SE) Hub and Duapa Werkspace in the Western Region. Under Result 4, SNV awards matching grants of up to EUR 25,000 to green businesses and entrepreneurs who have completed the incubation or acceleration programmes and have innovative business models that can create jobs in their local communities. Other support provided to green entrepreneurs includes national and regional level
trade shows and exhibitions, business-to-business and market linkages and investment forums to meet and engage with potential investors.

-Skyy Power