Pauline Koelbl – CEO of ShEquity Partners
ShEquity Partners, in partnership with the Agency for Business and Economic Development (AWE) and Greentec Capital Africa Foundation, has selected 10 Ghanaian gender-smart and climate-focused small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) under its Gender-Smart Climate Technical Assistance Facility aimed at expanding access to climate finance and carbon market opportunities.
The initiative seeks to promote inclusive climate innovation while strengthening the capacity of women-led and gender-smart businesses to benefit from Ghana’s growing carbon market ecosystem and global climate finance mechanisms.
The announcement follows an intensive support programme involving 30 gender-smart climate-focused SMEs from across Ghana. Participating businesses underwent hands-on training focused on investment readiness and access to carbon markets.
Following a rigorous assessment process, the number was narrowed to 15 companies, which subsequently received expert coaching to develop Carbon Opportunity Maps.
The shortlisted businesses also participated in masterclasses on gender inclusion, governance, growth strategy, job creation, strategic communications and market positioning.
From the 15 companies, 10 high-potential SMEs were selected based on their readiness to take advantage of opportunities emerging under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and Ghana’s evolving carbon market framework.
In the next phase of the programme, the selected businesses will receive one-on-one investor and communications coaching and will be paired with carbon certification experts to prepare them for market participation.
The final stage will involve live pitches before an independent jury, after which two winning businesses will be selected to receive support for the development of full Project Design Documents (PDDs) as well as grants of 25,000 dollars each to advance the next phase of the carbon certification process.
Founder and Chief Executive Officer of ShEquity Partners, Pauline Koelbl, said women-led and gender-smart SMEs were central to shaping Africa’s climate future.
“Through this Technical Assistance Facility, we are strengthening the investment and carbon market readiness of these businesses and positioning them to access emerging opportunities in climate finance, including carbon markets,” she said.
She noted that the selected SMEs reflected the innovation, resilience and growth potential within Ghana’s entrepreneurial ecosystem and stressed the need for greater investment in women-led enterprises driving climate resilience and green growth.
Advisor at AWE Ghana, Christina Pfandl, said supporting women-led and gender-smart SMEs to participate in climate finance mechanisms was essential to building a resilient and inclusive green economy.
She explained that the initiative would help participating businesses leverage the country’s Carbon Market Framework, aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, to unlock additional revenue streams and scale their impact.
The 10 finalist SMEs operate across sectors including circular economy, renewable energy, sustainable agriculture, sustainable mobility and nature-based solutions.
They are Dyson Energy, Eco-nexus, Enterprise Coast Ghana, Gateway Feeds, GreenEarth Agro, Legendary Foods, Mayiya Investments, Royal Baobab Farms, Sustainable Energy Technologies Limited and YomYom.
A Business Page Report