Ashesi University
Since its establishment in 2016, the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) has worked with leading international development partners to help Ghanaian entrepreneurs build, scale and sustain climate-smart businesses. Over the years, these partnerships have supported entrepreneurs across sectors including renewable energy, waste management, climate-smart agriculture, water and technology.
Together, these programmes reflect GCIC’s commitment to building a stronger climate innovation ecosystem in Ghana who are equipped not only to respond to climate challenges, but to turn those challenges into opportunities for sustainable economic growth. Visit the University partnerships page here.
The Women’s Agribusiness Incubation Programme is a nine-month GCIC initiative supporting women-led businesses in Ghana’s cashew and nut processing value chain sector to move beyond raw commodity trading to value-added processing and growth. This initiative is under the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II, a bilateral initiative of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Government of Ghana.
The Standard Chartered Foundation Women in Tech Accelerator is specifically designed to provide business incubation support for women-led or women-owned businesses that leverage technology. The project, currently running in Kenya, Nigeria, UAE, and Pakistan, aims to promote more diversity of thought and innovation in the technology sector and provide more opportunities for women applying technology in their operations to develop entrepreneurial excellence. The GCIC works with Standard Chartered Bank to oversee the Ghana program.
The Green Business Competitions program is an initiative funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) through GIZ implemented programme “Support to the Private and Financial Sector (PFS)
MSMEs who successfully join the program will benefit from 6 months business development support & will be eligible to access a grant up to Є10,000.
In partnership with Global Affairs Canada, this program contributes to strengthening Ghana’s ability to respond to the economic and social impacts of climate change by supporting small and medium-scale entrepreneurs to develop profitable and locally appropriate solutions to mitigate or adapt to climate change. It also increases public awareness of the green economy, and helps to improve the policy environment to effectively contribute to Ghana’s transition to a safer, healthier, more equitable and more prosperous low-carbon, green economy.
GCIC was established in 2016 with support from the World Bank through the infoDev Climate Technology Programme, with funding from the Governments of Denmark and the Netherlands.
The Centre was established to support Ghanaian start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop commercially viable businesses that address climate change mitigation and adaptation challenges. As part of the four year programme, GCIC provided a comprehensive range of business development, capacity-building and financing-readiness services to entrepreneurs, helping them develop their business concepts, strengthen their enterprises and access opportunities within Ghana’s emerging green economy.
Funded by the Swiss Government through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) under the Ghana Private Sector Competitiveness Programme II (GPSCP II), the partnership’s key initiatives is the Women’s Agribusiness Incubation Programme, which supports women-led businesses and female tertiary graduates to move beyond raw cashew trading into higher-value processing, packaging and commercial value creation.
The programme provides structured business incubation, one-on-one coaching and specialised enterprise mentoring, while supporting participants to scale within the agricultural value chain. It also connects participating businesses to finance through partners including First National Bank Ghana and RDF Ghana LBG, while creating market connections and export-ready buyer linkages.
Through this partnership, GCIC is helping unlock greater value within Ghana’s agricultural economy while creating opportunities for women to participate more meaningfully in higher-value segments of the cashew industry.
Global Affairs Canada oversees Canada’s diplomatic and consular relations, fosters international trade, and leads the country’s international development and humanitarian efforts.
Through its partnership with the Ghana Climate Innovation Center (GCIC), Global Affairs Canada supports Ghana’s vision of advancing a green economy by funding businesses in this sector. This collaboration, which began in 2020, is set to continue until 2025.
Established in 2014, Climate Launchpad is part of the entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC, a European knowledge and innovation community focused on climate change. ClimateLaunchpad is a global competition aimed at addressing the impacts of climate change through innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship and focuses on fostering green business ideas that challenge traditional business models and promote sustainability. The competition provides aspiring cleantech entrepreneurs with training, coaching, and networking opportunities to help bring their ideas to life. GCIC businesses participate in ClimateLaunchpad competitions.
Denmark has been a longstanding and reliable partner to Ghana since its independence in 1957. In 2020, bilateral relations evolved, shifting from traditional development aid towards collaborative efforts focused on fostering commercial ties and supporting Ghana’s goal of moving beyond aid.
A grant from the Governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, administered through the World Bank, funded the GCIC World Bank Project. The project was managed by a consortium led by Ashesi University, which included key partners like Ernst and Young, SNV Ghana, and the United Nations University. This collaboration leveraged expertise in private sector development, climate change, entrepreneurship, education, training, and research to ensure the success of the initiative.
EY services include financial audits, assurance, consulting, tax, and transaction services, all aimed at building trust in capital markets and global economies.
As part of its partnership with GCIC, EY contributes to monitoring and evaluation efforts by providing data verification and market analytics. This includes assessing key indicators such as stakeholder engagement and the number of entrepreneurs and ventures supported. This data plays a crucial role in demonstrating the impact of GCIC’s resources and outcomes in its storytelling efforts.
GCIC has partnered with Farmerline to provide full incubation support to 10 agribusinesses (Farmers / Aggregators / Input dealers) within Farmerline’s network of farms. The 10 agribusiness are also known to work with over 12,000 farmers. And so, beyond the 10 agribusiness to be impacted with full businesses incubation services, the initiative also aims to leverage its field trainings and demonstrations farmers to impact the larger group of farmers (who would otherwise not have qualified to enter the GCIC incubation on their own merit) with partial incubation services focused on climate smart agriculture innovations and technologies.
More significantly, Farmerline will also leverage the Farmer helpline, to educate the over 12, 000 farmers. This will be achieved by creating content from the masterclass programs, translating, and disseminating them as voice messages to these farmers using their Mergdata platform.
The program which runs from June 2024 to August 2025, will support MSMEs across five regions of Ghana – Greater Accra, Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo, for six (6) months, to scale their operations and fortify climate adaptation practices within their enterprises.
GIZ is committed to creating a sustainable future that benefits everyone, worldwide. Its partnership with the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) at Ashesi University supports an initiative that provides business incubation, acceleration programs, and grant financing to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana. This collaboration aims to strengthen SMEs’ operations and enhance their climate adaptation strategies, contributing to a more resilient green economy.
The IMANI Center for Policy and Education is a Ghana-based think tank and member of the Atlas Economic Research Foundation, applying free-market solutions to complex social issues.
As part of GCIC’s Policy Advocacy for a Green Economy (PAGE-GH), we have partnered with IMANI from 2020 to 2023, leveraging their expertise to provide research-driven policy recommendations on climate-friendly legislation. These insights have been shared with government stakeholders through research papers and policy dialogues addressing key climate issues.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands oversees foreign relations, foreign policy, international development, trade, and its engagement with the European Union, NATO, and the Benelux Union.
A grant from the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, administered through the World Bank, funded the GCIC World Bank Project. This project was managed by a consortium led by Ashesi University, which included partners such as Ernst and Young, SNV Ghana, and the United Nations University. The consortium brought together a wealth of expertise in private sector development, climate change, entrepreneurship, education, training, and research.
SNV has been active in Ghana since 1992, implementing nearly 100 projects focused on fostering economic, institutional, social, and environmental development while combating poverty. The organization continues to collaborate closely with the Government of Ghana and local partners to address issues of inequality and the climate crisis.
As part of its efforts, SNV supported the GCIC Accelerator Program in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands. This collaboration aims to drive sustainable development, especially in climate-resilient sectors such as agriculture, water, and energy, ensuring long-term growth and positive impact.
Standard Chartered, connects corporate and institutional stakeholders to sustainable growth opportunities in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.
Through its Futuremakers initiative, the bank addresses inequality and promotes economic inclusion, committing USD 120 million between 2024 and 2030 to create 140,000 jobs. This effort focuses on empowering disadvantaged young entrepreneurs and jobseekers, especially women, with skills and opportunities.
In Ghana, Futuremakers funds the GCIC’s Standard Chartered Women in Tech program, which supports women-led tech businesses, fostering entrepreneurship and technological innovation. Learn more about Standard Chartered Women in Tech https://scwomenintechgh.com/
The United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa (UNU-INRA) bridges the gap between science and policy in natural resources management across Africa. Its mission is to support the sustainable development of Africa’s natural resources while preserving the environment and improving livelihoods.
UNU-INRA focuses on the development, governance, and management of both renewable and non-renewable resources, alongside promoting a green economy.
Through the USD 17.2M GCIC project, the institute provided targeted support, mentoring, training, and funding facilitation to 100 companies in Ghana over five years.
The World Bank Group is committed to reducing global poverty and promoting shared prosperity, working with countries to drive sustainable development and economic growth. It provides financing and knowledge services to support projects that focus on critical areas such as education, health, infrastructure, and climate change.
Between 2016 and 2020, the World Bank partnered with GCIC to support entrepreneurs and SMEs focused on developing locally appropriate solutions to climate change. This partnership facilitated the establishment of a climate innovation center, aimed at increasing business activity in the climate technology sector and supporting sustainable growth.