Liliana Biglou (left) Ekow Spio-Garbrah (second left), Sydney Tetteh Hushie (right) launching the report
A new survey conducted by British Council Ghana has identified some key bottlenecks affecting the growth of Ghana’s social enterprise ecosystem.
The bottlenecks, the report said, include difficulty in obtaining grant funding (71%), lack of access to support and advisory services (35%), understanding and awareness of social enterprise among banks and support organizations (32%) and shortage of technical skills (26%), among others.
The survey was conducted in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi and Tamale between November 2015 and January 2016. A total of 125 organizations reportedly took part in the survey.
The report is a follow up on the initial social enterprise landscape in Ghana report that was launched in 2015.
It said even though there are positive outlooks for the social enterprise ecosystem in Ghana, the identified bottlenecks need to be addressed to drive further growth of the subsector.
“Social enterprise in the country is growing, but could grow more,” the ‘Social Enterprise Activity in Ghana Research Report’ said.
“Almost all social enterprises expect staff number to increase next year, having also increased over the last year. 98% expect their venture to grow, and 77% expect turnover to increase next year,” the report said.
Partnership and Business Development Consultant at the British Council Ghana, Sydney Tetteh Hushie, presenting the findings of the survey on Wednesday in Accra, said within the next two to three years, Ghana could earn about GH¢100 million annually from the operations of social enterprises.
According to the report, there are about 26,000 social enterprises in Ghana.
“98 social enterprises in Ghana currently employ 998 young people directly and impacting 103,148 lives in Ghana,” it said.
It said those 98 social enterprises were generating an amount of GH¢8 million annually in the economy, with the rest earning millions of cedis.
Education (36%) and agriculture (33%) are the most cited sectors which Ghanaian social enterprises operate, with education social enterprises being particularly dominant in Accra and agricultural social enterprises most common in the North, the report revealed.
Manufacturing (22%) and Services (21%) came second while housing represented the least cited sector where Ghanaian social enterprises operate.
It said “almost 60% of social enterprises focus on creating employment opportunities as a main objective.”
Director of British Council Ghana, Liliana Biglou, said the ecosystem is showing a lot of potential which needs to be supported.
She said the British Council was keen to leverage the UK experience with Ghana’s flair for innovation and need for socially relevant solutions.
Minister of Trade and Industry, Ekow Spio-Garbrah, who launched the report, indicated the potential of social enterprises to create jobs, transfer technology and create new products and services.
The British Council is the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and promotion of educational opportunities.
Through its Global Social Enterprise Programme, the Council promotes social enterprise activities in countries like India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Ethiopia, Ghana, Pakistan, among others.
By Melvin Tarlue