Ghana – Strengthening Social Enterprise and Inclusive Business Reform

The Ghana interventions comprised three complementary actions to strengthen the country’s entrepreneurial and social enterprise ecosystem. These included finalising the national Social Enterprise Policy, assessing the feasibility of a social enterprise and innovation fund with emphasis on women-led and green start-ups, and building the advocacy capacity of the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs to influence regulatory reforms. Together, these efforts addressed systemic barriers such as limited access to finance, complex regulations, and gender inequalities—challenges that disproportionately affect women and youth entrepreneurs in Ghana’s dynamic enterprise sector.

• Supported Social Enterprise Ghana to update the draft Social Enterprise Policy, develop an action plan, and create a resource mobilisation framework.
• Delivered capacity-building to strengthen institutional sustainability and engagement with government.
• Provided technical assistance to assess the feasibility of a Social Enterprise and Innovation Fund, focusing on women-led and green enterprises.
• Produced key documents including a Resource Mobilisation Plan, Policy Brief, and Operational Manual to guide fund development.
• Supported GCYE to conduct a nationwide policy gap analysis and co-create a National Business Agenda (NBA) with four other associations.
• Launched a public-private dialogue platform and strengthened GCYE’s advocacy capacity.

• Social Enterprise Ghana contributed to national policy processes (e.g. Ghana Start-up Bill, CSR legislation) and mobilised $200,000 annually, expanding partnerships by 60%.
• The Social Enterprise and Innovation Fund was confirmed viable, with initial engagement underway with the Mastercard Foundation.
• GCYE’s NBA received strong government backing and was endorsed by nearly 100 stakeholders at the Ghana Youth and Women Enterprise Forum.
• Advocacy shifted from fragmented efforts to coordinated reform, placing youth and women at the centre of Ghana’s economic transformation agenda.