Bizline Incubation Hub has received grant from World Bank through the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) Hub Acceleration Grant Programme, under the Ghana Economic Project – GETP.
The Grant Programme is to support the development of the entrepreneurship ecosystem, by building the capacities of entrepreneurship hubs to bring improvement and quality of their services to meet global standards. Bizline Incubation Hub is one of the thirty (30) incubation and entrepreneurship hubs to be supported with $7 million grant from the World Bank.
In an interview with the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NEIP, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah, he stated that in order for a country to reduce unemployment and improve economic growth, it is important to fund and support small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and encourage entrepreneurship in the young generation.
Also, speaking to the Managing Director of Bizline Incubation Hub, Madam Jean-Marie Wellrich Akiwele, she said that, the hub is thrilled about the exceptional opportunity to secure a grant from the World Bank; as the organization is deeply committed to fostering the entrepreneurial ecosystem by offering robust acceleration and incubation programs.
She stated, “Funding has consistently posed a significant challenge. Therefore, this grant holds immense significance for our role as an Incubation Hub, as it will empower us to generate a multitude of opportunities for businesses to scale up. Moreover, it will enable us to extend valuable support to aspiring entrepreneurs, facilitating their growth and success.”
She added that the grant will provide crucial support to the hub’s projects and initiatives and enable their beneficiaries to acquire essential skills and accelerate the growth of their businesses.
“We have several on-going projects that would greatly benefit from this grant. These include our SME Acceleration programme, Project 25 incubation programme, Women in Tech initiative, and Young Entrepreneurship Initiative, among others.” she mentioned.
Even though the grant is non-refundable, the incubation hubs were advised to pay back in kind through job creation, training and nurturing of SMEs to contribute to the innovation and entrepreneurship sector in the country for economic development.
