A partnership to strengthen the capacity of Fund Managers and Transaction Advisors in Ghana has been announced by Impact Investing Ghana (IIGh) and the Ghana Investment Support Programme.

The Partnership, being funded by the British International Investment (BII), seeks to offer high quality and affordable advisory services.

While the Ghanaian private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) industry is strong and expanding, there is still room for improvement in the areas of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management, as well as impact measurement and management (IMM) practices. Additionally, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana require support to reach the standards necessary for PE/VC funding(“investor readiness”).

According to both parties, the partnership will include mapping and capacity building for transaction advisors and connecting businesses and funds with transaction advisors, as part of IIGh’s Deal Source Africa program. It will also include capacity building on IMM and ESG for fund managers.

In line with this, the first Transaction Advisors Ghana Workshop, a collaborative initiative by IIGh and BII, through its Ghana Investment Support Programme (GISP) was held to empower transaction advisors with valuable insights, knowledge-sharing opportunities and industry connections.

The outcomes of the Transaction Advisors Ghana Workshop saw 25 Transaction Advisory companies and 37 Transaction Advisors capacities built on Investment Readiness, Due Diligence and ESG.

IIGH and BII Focuses On SMEs Financing

Kwabena Asante Poku, Ghana Coverage Director, expressed his delight about the collaboration – noting that it will improve the Ghanaian ecosystem for Private Equity/Venture Capital ecosystem in Ghana and support more capital flow into underserved SMEs.

“Our joint efforts aim to improve the industry’s standards while promoting ESG and IMM practices. This will help SMEs achieve investor readiness and attract more funding to Ghana. By empowering SMEs and improving ESG practices, we can create sustainable economic impact.”
Kwabena Asante Poku

According to the CEO of Impact Investing Ghana, Amma Lartey, research done by IIGh identified insufficient transaction advisory services as a major gap holding back the flow of financing for SMEs.

“It also identified increasing the capacity of fund managers and other ecosystem players on impact measurement and management and ESG as an opportunity. We are delighted to partner with BII to begin to fill these gaps and are looking forward to seeing this increased capital flowing to SMEs and contributing to positive economic and social transformation.”
Amma Lartey

IIGh and BII’s GISP program organized today, Tuesday, 27th June 2023, focused on the means for Fund Manager investment teams to increase their capacity to assess the governance needs and create value in their investee companies – by helping these companies to build stronger corporate governance systems.

Private-sector-led, yet in close partnership with the national government, IIGh and BII seeks to raise awareness, create market intelligence, change policies, and mobilize additional financial resources for the public good.

IIGh has an ambitious plan to support the growth of impact ventures and to catalyze US$ 1 billion in impact funds for investment in impact ventures in Ghana and the West African sub-region.