Small Grants for MSMEs Support Initiative – Ghana

Objectives and Responsibilities

• The organizations wishing to apply for the implementation of the SGP MSME initiative will be expected to provide courses in the areas stated below and to have a deep understanding of the relevant free trade agreements in the respective country. The applicant will then compile a plan of action to provide capacity development to (i) potential MSMEs and (ii) established MSMEs to enhance their ability to thrive as successful and independent businesses in Ghana.
• Provide training and tools to strengthen the capacities of nature-positive MSMEs in four areas of value chain development.
  • Essentials of Business Planning including but not limited to:
    • Business model and strategy (market analysis, competition, strengths and weaknesses of the participants, business plan development).
    • Basic accounting and finance.
  • Understanding marketing and customers including but not limited to:
    • Marketing mix (Four P’s: product, price, placement, and promotion)
    • General marketing techniques
    • Digital/Social Media Marketing Customer Experience
    • Ethical marketing principles
  • Online Sales including but not limited to:
    • E-commerce (for national/in-country and international sales)
    • Cyber security best practices and tools
  • Cross-Border Trade including but not limited to:
    • Packaging and product quality requirements for specific markets (depending on Business-to-Business (B2B) or Business-to-Consumer (B2C))
    • Import/Export requirements
    • Accessing new markets
    • Customs procedures/cross-border trading requirements
    • Opportunities under relevant free trade agreements (e.g., African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), etc.).
• Specify how the modules will be facilitated. The organization needs to specify (i) the number of hours for each module; (ii) which courses will be provided in-person vs. online; and (iii) the number of facilitators and their specific roles and responsibilities.
• Specify the number of participants who can participate in each module/course. The organization needs to specify how many participants it can cater to in each of the modules/courses that they are providing and ensure that each participant’s needs are addressed.
• Provide peer-to-peer mentoring sessions after each module or course area to help the enterprises with their specific needs. The organization needs to specify (i) how the mentoring sessions will be conducted (e.g., in-person, online, or phone consultation); (ii) when it will be conducted; and (iii) who the mentors will be.  It is highly recommended that mentoring sessions be provided regularly and mentors must operate nature-positive businesses.
• Specify how the participants will be evaluated. The organization should provide a detailed description of how they evaluate the participants’ performance and what tools, if relevant, will be used.
• Organization of courses and events. The organization will provide the venue and organize the courses and other relevant events about the SGP MSME initiative, including mobilizing the participants/MSMEs for the courses/events.  Given that the courses are open to all MSMEs in the respective country and not exclusive to those supported by the SGP, the finalization of the participant list will need the approval of the SGP National Coordinator to ensure that participants are nature-positive MSMEs.

Funding Information

• The SGP MSME initiative is expected to last up to 24 months and to have a maximum budget of US$50,000.

Eligibility Criteria

• To qualify for the grant award, the applicant must:
  • Be an organization (not-for-profit) with a legal mandate to operate in Ghana.
  • Be a non-government organization, community-based organization, or social enterprise organization recognized by the relevant district/municipal authorities.
  • Have relevant experience and proven records in working with groups in environmental, forestry, and/or agricultural-related activities and should be based or already have a working presence in Ghana.
  • Be the lead organization that should propose a plan of engaging the private sector, and relevant governments, research institutes, communities, media, and other key stakeholders on behalf of the trainees/participants.
  • In submitting the project proposals, applicants should take a systems analysis to understand the SGP MSME Initiative and the problems associated with the MSMEs.
  • Succinctly describe the problems related to the MSMEs.
  • Explain how the proposed training objectives, outputs, and activities would have a concrete impact and contribute towards the achievements of the program component.
  • Show that projects are innovative, impactful, and sustainable.
  • Promote social inclusion, including gender equality and women’s empowerment.
• Qualifications
  • Experience in providing courses on value-chain development.
  • Experience in working with MSMEs, especially micro-enterprises.
  • Full understanding of the relevant Free Trade Agreements (e.g., the African Continental Free Trade Agreement)
  • Proven ability to facilitate effective and balanced consultations which includes diverse actors and perspectives to ensure that voices are heard, and exchanges are constructive.
  • Proven ability to evaluate the participants’ performance and provide the necessary course of action where relevant.
  • Proven ability to produce high-quality written reports (to the SGP) according to deadlines.
  • Familiarity with UNDP and SGP programming is an advantage.

For more information, visit UNDP.