On Tuesday, 1st June 2021, ClimateLaunchpad Ghana began its green business boot camp training. Out of the total number of applications received across 7 regions nationwide, 10 early-stage ideas were selected and invited to participate in the competition.
The programme began with a self-paced mini-course session to introduce participants to the competition and give them a broad overview of how to transform their green business idea into a successful business. During the intensive 3-day boot camp that followed, the teams led by international business expert Mike Goodfellow-Smith and a team of local coaches learnt how to perfect their business model and value proposition, build their pitch deck, calculate their climate impact, describe their Founder’s Dream, understand their financial model, and pitch their business ideas to investors and potential clients.
“The ClimateLaunchpad boot camp helped us gain deep insight into building a stronger business,” stated Ellen Lokko of Nael Fibre Accessories. “The impact from the 3 days of training has been enormous; we have learnt to redefine & identify our target customer, penetrate the market, and scale our business. With the pitching sessions we had, we can now confidently present our business idea to potential customers and investors in 60 seconds, and that’s the biggest takeaway for us.”
Ideas in this year’s competition include waste digitization projects, energy-efficient fuel fabrication, innovative semi-processed food production from underutilized Ghanaian crops, technological innovations to process nitrous oxide from car exhausts, recycling of plantain and banana stems for accessories, fabrication of solar-powered walk-in cold rooms to extend the shelf of perishable crops, and utilization of solar drying technology to preserve and add value to farm produce.
The boot camps will be followed by hands-on coaching sessions to further refine the various business ideas into start-ups that can compete on both the national and international front. The 10 participants will be competing in a virtual national final in July, where the top three teams will be selected to compete in the African regional finals in September. Winning teams from the Regional Finals will compete in the Global Grand Final, with 16 businesses selected to the semi-finals to compete for prize money.
About ClimateLaunchpad
ClimateLaunchpad is the global green business ideas competition. Its mission is to address the negative impacts of climate change through innovation, invention, and entrepreneurship. A green future demands thousands of innovations challenging the current business models. The competition supports aspiring and promising cleantech entrepreneurs with training, coaching, and networking opportunities. ClimateLaunchpad was established in 2014 and is part of the Entrepreneurship offerings of EIT Climate-KIC.
About EIT Climate-KIC
EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s climate innovation initiative, working to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon and resilient world by enabling systems transformation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, it operates from 13 hubs across Europe and is active in 39 countries. EIT Climate-KIC was established in 2010 and is predominately funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union.