Adopt and Pass Ghana Social Enterprise Policy Into Law- Government Told

Adopt and Pass Ghana Social Enterprise Policy Into Law- Government Told

The Executive Director of Social Enterprise Ghana, Mr Edwin Zu-Cudjoe has called on the government of Ghana to adopt and pass the Ghana Social Enterprise Policy immediately. The policy, he said, when passed would improve the business environment necessary for the development of the social enterprise ecosystem in Ghana.

According to him, developing an inclusive business environment for sustainable development requires a social enterprise policy. He said this in an interview with the media at the Ghana Social Enterprise policy dialogue in Accra. He underscored that 800,000 people employed along the social enterprise value chain contributed 2.3 billion dollars to Ghana’s GDP with the target of vulnerable communities.

“The policy is currently in the draft stage. We have engaged the Ministry of Trade and Industry on various occasions but we believe that platforms like this will urge the government more to see the importance of this policy and pass it. The policy should have been passed a long time ago, hence our hope that by the end of next year, it will be passed and adopted into law”.

“So the context for this event is generally a continuation of conversation around promoting a very conducive and business-friendly environment for social enterprises. Here we have various stakeholders like the media, Ghana Enterprise Agency, Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry of Gender Children, and Social Protection, investors, and financial institutions all bringing their thoughts toward social enterprises. We believe that at the end of this event, we will also use this platform to urge the government to pass and adopt the Ghana social enterprise policy”, he stated.

Mr Edwin Zu-Cudjoe believes that training people in entrepreneurship and starting a business at a young age will reduce the unemployment rate in the country.

Prof Ernest Winful, Dean of International Programs at Accra Technical University noted that, per the current state of social enterprise in the country, the country needs a social enterprise policy. He emphasized that the passage of the policy will guide and govern the activities of social enterprises to thrive.

The dialogue brought participants from the media, Ghana Enterprise Agency, Ministry of Youth and Sport, Ministry to Gender Children and Social Protection, Investors, and financial institutions representatives with insight into social enterprises, financing of social and the current state of the Ghana Social Enterprise Policy and elicit inputs from stakeholders on the need for the adoption of the Ghana Social Enterprise Policy.

Story by Fada Amakye from Daily Sun