The UK government, in collaboration with manufacturing firm, Unilever, and accounting firm EY, has awarded five West African enterprises with a £500,000 grant to support agriculture transformation and tackle environmental challenges.

The enterprises are AppCyclers, a digital waste management startup based in Northern Ghana; Minana Services, a Ghanaian palm oil producer adopting regenerative agriculture practices to create jobs for women and youth; Chanja Datti, a Nigerian startup that decentralises plastic waste processes; Planet 3R, a social enterprise enhancing the livelihoods of women and youth in Nigeria, as well as Scrapays, a digital platform that connects waste producers to aggregators and processors.

Each of the selected enterprises will receive GH¢2 million (£100,000) and business mentorship support from EY professionals to help them navigate growth challenges and scale their impact.

TRANSFORM West Africa, a global initiative and impact accelerator led by the UK Government through the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), Unilever and EY, announced the grant funding to the beneficiaries in Accra last Wednesday during a private event hosted by the British High Commissioner, Harriet Thompson, at her residence to celebrate their achievements and impacts.

Innovation

In Ghana, TRANSFORM has provided grants of more than GH¢12 million (£600k) to innovative enterprises which have reached more than two million people across the country.
Speaking at the event, Ms Thompson highlighted the FCDO's commitment to development, not just through aid but innovation, enterprise and sustainable solutions that could stand the test of time.

"Deploying a range of modern partnerships, including the Unilever-EY-TRANSFORM initiative, we invest in SMEs that are innovating and adding value.

"By helping these companies scale, we are not just supporting businesses  --- we are helping to create jobs, stimulate markets and boost the local economy in Ghana," she said.

Ms Thompson said through the TRANSFORM partnership, "we have reached more than 18 million people with crucial access to healthcare, agricultural inputs and other support".

TRANSFORM, he said, was designed to leverage substantial co-financing and follow-on investment from the private sector, from investors and philanthropists.

To date, she said, the programme had unlocked almost £50 million of additional financing and several of the start-ups, which had been supported, had begun to build their businesses globally.

"For us, TRANSFORM is a key part of the UK government's significant engagement with Ghana on economic growth," she said.

Collaboration

The Partner, Consulting of EY, Michael Sackey, said at EY, “we are proud to collaborate with Unilever and FCDO on this transformation, where we bring our knowledge, skills and professional experience to support impactful enterprises”.

The Managing Director of Unilever Ghana PLC, Chris Wulff-Caesar, said TRANSFORM addressed environmental challenges, improved health and well-being, and built inclusive economies, ultimately benefiting low-income households.

In an interview, the Team Leader & Private Sector Adviser, Green Economic Transformation Team at the British High Commission, Nana Frimpomaa Arhin, said the UK Government believed that the private sector was critical for the creation of jobs and growth.

Advice

The Development Director of the British High Commission in Accra, Richard Sandall, said being part of the TRANSFORM families would give them access to advice, leadership and connections that would help their challenges.

The five new cohorts of West African enterprises will join 13 others supported by TRANSFORM in the region to date.