Request for Applications: BizATE Enterprise Programme (Ghana)

Types of Grant

• Small business owner grant
  • They will be supporting a number of skilled, committed business owners in the Lawra Municipality with small grants, monthly mentoring and regular commercial skills training. The successful candidates will have existing businesses which they are looking to grow and develop. Successfully graduated VocATE apprentices are also invited to apply for this fund.
  • Small business owner grant  – criteria they will consider:
    • You have a skill which adds value to product (such as vocational qualification)
    • Basic technical business skills
    • Business plan which demonstrates potential profitability of business
    • Future capacity to train apprentices or staff
    • Committed to business and local area
    • Committed to improving life for family and community
• Entrepreneurial Acceleration Programme
  • This round, they are also introducing a new type of support – their Entrepreneurial Acceleration Programme.
  • The Entrepreneurial Acceleration Programme is a new scheme aimed at exciting businesses which offer employment, training, profits and create significant ripple effect. The programme will provide larger funding and targeted mentoring for entrepreneurs with a business plan demonstrating expected growth and wider impact on the community. The selection criteria for this programme is different to their usual BizATE grants – please read this through to check whether you could be eligible for this programme, or whether the ‘Small Business Owner’ grant might be more applicable to you.
  • Entrepreneur Acceleration Programme – criteria they will consider:
    • Business that is already profitable
    • Strong and demonstrable understanding of technical business skills
    • Solid business plan showing growth phase of business
    • Currently employing or training others, plans to employ more
    • Significant ripple effect of business
    • Innovation and environmental impacts (desirable but not compulsory)
    • Ethical employer

Eligibility Criteria

• As always, to be eligible for their business grants:
  • You must not be in employment where you take a salary from any private or government organisation
  • You must work and live within Lawra District
  • You must be ready to work hard and commit to training, mentoring and monitoring from ATE

For more information, visit ATE.