Enpact e.V, a German Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), has opened applications for businesses to receive financial, mentoring and technical support to deal with challenges associated with the onset of COVID-19.

The NGO’s COVID-19 Relief Programme, through its “Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative,” has a financial support package of 9,000 Euros each for 50 promising Ghanaian businesses to enable them to support the economic upswing and create jobs.

A statement from the German Development Agency (GIZ) said the project aimed at assisting participants in coping with the economic impact of the COVID-19 crisis in line with GIZ’s Strategic Partnership Technology in Africa (SPTA), being implemented through Enpact e.V.

It said the Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative was launching two programmes to provide in total nearly three million Euros to 330 founding teams across six countries: Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Jordan, Kenya, and Mexico.

Ms Regina Bauerochse Barbosa, GIZ Ghana Country Director, said the COVID-19 pandemic had thrown the world into extraordinary times and that the daily reality for businesses, especially promising start-ups, was not pleasant.

She said GIZ recognised that hence the initiative to help empower young businesses and position them firmly amid the virus.

“One thing the pandemic has taught us is to look beyond the norm and picture how things could be. Therefore, I urge all beneficiaries of this initiative to not just rely on the support we can give, but to continue to look for innovative and creative ways to grow and scale,” Ms Barbosa said.

She said any business in its early stages that had a functioning and promising business model before the COVID-19 crisis was eligible to apply.

She said Enpact e.V. launched the activities in West Africa in 2017 and had since implemented several international and national mentoring programmes for entrepreneurs, along with the launch of a physical hub in Accra to host programmes for ecosystem enablers and support organisations to build the Ghanaian start-up ecosystem.

“Empowering entrepreneurs is at the core of enpact. With this initiative, we are able to go above and beyond for young, innovative Ghanaian founders and support them in these challenging times - not only financially but also with network, resources, and dedicated mentoring for each business,” Mr Ernest Armah, Project Lead for Ghana, said.

He said the COVID-19 crisis presented businesses worldwide with unprecedented challenges with young organisations being the worst hit.

Through a combination of mentoring, workshops, network building and financial support, the Empowering Entrepreneurship Initiative supports participating business owners to make them resilient and sustainable in the long-term, and to stimulate job creation locally.

Businesses can check their eligibility and apply via: http://bit.ly/enpactEEI_P1.