Twenty
Ghanaian high-potential startups have concluded the first national
bootcamp designed to promote local entrepreneurship and innovation in
clean technologies. The initiative was organized last week by the
soon-to-be-launched World Bank/infoDevs Ghana Climate Innovation Center
(GCIC). The bootcamp aimed to identify and launch growthoriented
Ghanaian e n t r e p r e n e u r s and new ventures involved in d e v e l
o p i n g profitable and locally relevant solutions to climate change.
Several studies, including the World Banks report Economics of Adaption
to Climate Changeand Ghana's National Climate Change Policy Framework,
have stressed how significant the impact of climate change will be on
Ghana's economy, people and development. Crop yields are predicted to
decline by 7% by 2050 due to higher temperatures, while sea levels are
expected to rise over one meter this century, causing the erosion of
1,120 square kilometers of land.
Ghana
is highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and as such, its
prospects for continuous growth will depend on the country's ability to
build competitive and climate-resilient industries, said Yusupha B.
Crookes, World BankCountry Director. In line with the National Climate
Change Policy, by accelerating the development of local clean technology
companies the Ghana Climate Innovation Center will help reduce the
countrys vulnerability to climate change, while also creating jobs and
promoting investments in new clean technologies.
The
twenty clean-tech companies in the bootcamp were competitively selected
after a nation-wide campaign that led to almost 90 applications in a
few weeks. Only the companies with the highest level of innovation,
technical expertise, and potential for commercial success were invited
to the bootcamp. The bootcamp consisted of an intense two-day training
program designed to refine the entrepreneursbusiness concepts and a
pitching contest held in front of a panel of local investors and
industry experts. The bootcamp is the first of a series of activities
that the Ghana Climate Innovation Center will implement to support the
countrys National Climate Change Policy. After its official inauguration
in mid-2015, the center will provide up to 200 local companies with
business facilities and a targeted suite of services that includes
early-stage financing, technology commercialization, business
development and capacity building support.
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