Project info

  • Date: Aug 23, 2022
  • Client: Nsawam Community
  • Category:
  • Address: Nsawam - Accra, Ghana

The Organic Waste-to-Value Initiative

is the first project that is currently being executed by Centre for Enterprise Learning, as a develoPPP project in partnership with GIZ, and MDF West Africa. This 3-year project focusses on strengthening job creation in the organic waste-to-value chain in the peri-urban area of Nsawam.

The initiative aims to achieve local development by seizing the opportunities offered by the circular economy. It is constructed of six different pillars.

organic-to-waste-pillars-illustration

The backbone of this project

is to support young and female entrepreneurs with the development of MSMEs along the organic waste-to-value chain sector through entrepreneurship support and development programs offered by the training centre established by CEL (Pillar 1&2).

Aside from entrepreneurship support there is also a need for technical and vocational training for (potential) workers in the waste-management sector. To be able to conduct these trainings, a technical and vocational training centre will be built in Obregyima (Nsawam) (Pillar 2).

The training centre will serve as a location to facilitate the MSME support and development programs (of Pillar 1) and to hold the technical and vocational organic waste-to-value courses (Pillar 3). If a sufficient number of enterprises are supported, it is believed that on their turn these businesses will create extra jobs by creating work positions in their enterprises (Pillar 1). Potential workers in these and other enterprises could take technical and vocational courses to obtain the necessary skills.

 

Training workers

through appropriate technical and vocational courses is also believed to sustain jobs, especially if sufficient young and female workers are being trained (Pillar 3). To provide these young entrepreneurs and their MSMEs with some tailwind, the project introduces vital capital goods at strategic points in the value chain, such as tricycles, separation bins at market places (Pillar 4), and will create an enabling environment through advocacy and policy influencing activities including awareness and behaviour change campaigns for a variety of target groups (Pillar 5).

Moreover, a business case for the training centre will be developed by CEL to ensure sustainability and economic viability of the training centre and its services (Pillar 6).

Through these pillars livelihoods and food security of peri-urban communities in the Nsawam area will be enhanced through improved agriculture productivity and circular waste management practices. A large variety of new businesses in the organic waste-to-value-chain will be set up by capacitated young entrepreneurs, specifically women.

They will not only create employment but also offer innovative solutions to other businesses and households, solutions that can generate income or reduce costs related to waste management. For example: on site startups, can work on seedling production, using the organic fertilizers. Areas of business opportunities include home and public sanitation, collection of fecal sludge and organic waste, production and sales of compost, soil improvement, post-harvest systems for reduced post-harvest losses, fish farming and sales. The organic waste-to-value-chain allows for small and larger-scale businesses, which can be set-up by women.

 

The project chooses to focus on young female

(aspirant) MSME entrepreneurs, without excluding males, with a thrive for improved agriculture or a cleaner and healthier environment. The project prioritizes females over males because women are often responsible for domestic work like shopping, cooking, cleaning, and childcare and wellbeing of their husbands and disposal of waste is one of their daily tasks.

As such, implementing a successful organic waste-to-value-chain entrepreneurship support program for young women will inevitably create a win-win situation for women and society as a whole. The project chooses to focus on youth because the high rate of unemployment, especially in the age category 15-24, offers a large reservoir of potential, lifelong successful entrepreneurs.

The project also focusses on MSME entrepreneurs because we believe the MSME sector is the key engine for job creation, thus developing household’s income, home and public sanitation and the local economy.