ShEquity Partners has organised a two-day workshop for 15 Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in climate-related sectors, aimed at strengthening their capacity to access carbon markets.
The training sessions, held in Accra from March 24 to 25, were designed to equip local SMEs with the knowledge and technical skills required for carbon market trading.
Speaking to Myjoyonline, the Chief Executive Officer of ShEquity, Pauline Koelbl, said the facility seeks to enhance SMEs’ understanding of carbon markets while positioning them to attract investment.
She explained that the programme involves identifying promising SMEs, training them to assess their carbon market readiness, and supporting them with funding for certification processes.
“Ghana is leading globally in terms of countries that have set up a carbon framework, but a lot of SMEs don’t really know about it,” Mrs Koelbl noted.
Building technical capacity for carbon markets
The ShEquity Facility equips participating businesses with tools to collaborate with major certifiers such as Verra, Gold Standard and I-REC.
These collaborations are expected to help align participating SMEs with key international policy frameworks, including Article 6 and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).
Programme structure and funding
The initiative is a pilot programme funded by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ).
It began with the selection of 30 gender-smart green SMEs to undergo training in carbon market access and investment readiness.
Under the programme, 15 companies will receive Carbon Opportunity Maps, while 10 will be introduced to investors and certifiers.
The top two businesses will advance to the carbon credit project development stage, where they will receive support to develop Project Design Documents, as well as US$25,000 each to support certification efforts.
The initiative forms part of broader efforts to position Ghanaian SMEs to benefit from emerging opportunities within the global carbon market while advancing the country’s green transition agenda.
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Source: www.myjoyonline.com
