Stakeholders in social entrepreneurship in Ghana are optimistic about getting cabinet approval for the draft Social Enterprises Draft policy by the end of December 2021.
This will be after they conclude deliberations and dialogue to improve the draft policy document.
Edwin Zu-Cudjoe, the Executive Director of Social Enterprise Ghana, the umbrella body for social enterprises in Ghana that is leading the process, said they are working around the clock to ensure that the deadline is met.
Speaking to Citi News on the sidelines of a stakeholder meeting in Accra to improve the draft document, Mr. Zu-Cudjoe said such engagements “bring onboard new partners and new stakeholders that we have not thought about in our previous engagements. We are engaging them in improving the business environment for social enterprises.”
“We are looking at having this thing [document] finalized by end of this year, and that is how come we are putting in much energy towards engaging all the relevant partners to make sure that we have this document… December 2021 is the deadline we have in my mind in engaging government to have the policy document adopted.”
SE Ghana has held similar engagements in the past, all in a bid to get relevant stakeholders to make inputs to improve the quality of the draft policy document.
Mr. Zu-Cudjoe said he was impressed with the outputs from the engagements as it has helped to among other things incorporate critical issues such as gender, climate change, and environmental sustainability into the document.
There are said to be about 100,000 social enterprises in Ghana, but the lack of a policy framework for social enterprises has made it difficult for most of them to thrive.
The policy document is hoping to create a conducive environment for social enterprises to thrive by tackling various issues including funding and tax breaks.
Meanwhile, a Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, has given assurances of the ministry’s commitment towards supporting the growth of small and growing businesses especially impact start-ups particularly because of their important roles in Ghana’s sustainable development agenda.