Despite its economic growth, Ghana’s youth and women still lack sufficient employment opportunities. This often forces them to leave their home country and undertake treacherous journeys in search of job opportunities abroad. Those who are unsuccessful or simply decide to return back to Ghana then find re-entering the local job market difficult. The country also faces several environmental challenges such as air, plastic, and water pollution, unmanaged solid waste, sites contaminated with hazardous chemicals, land degradation, deforestation, and overfishing. This creates a great need for green and climate-resilient development in local communities. However, despite several efforts by the government, Ghana has not yet transitioned into a green economy.

The GrEEn project addresses both the lack of employment opportunities for certain population groups as well as the need for sustainable development. The initiative is implemented under the European Union Emergency Trust Fund (EUTF) for Africa and realised as a project between the European Union (EU), the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), and SNV Netherlands Development Organisation. The projects is fulfilled in close cooperation with relevant Ghanaian ministries (mainly the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development) and metropolitan, municipal, and district assemblies. GrEEn uses a combination of grants, access to finance, technical assistance and skills development to promote green and circular economies. It will also provide support for the incubation and acceleration of selected micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) with the potential to implement green business models in sectors such as agriculture, energy and water, sanitation and hygiene. The initiative is set to take place in two Ghanaian regions – the Ashanti and Western regions.

By providing training and financial support to local green businesses, the project is expected to promote and support the growth of climate resilient local economies and contribute to the development of circular economies. The support of local MSMEs is also expected to create sustainable employment opportunities, especially for the aforementioned population groups. The youth, women, and returning migrants will be able to gain a new set of skills allowing them to benefit from green job and entrepreneurship opportunities in their local communities.

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