The key note address was followed by a series of panel discussion moderated by Bernard Alve (Citi Breakfast Show), Abdul-Nasser Alidu (GCIC) and Charlotte Ntim (World Bank).
Panel Session 1: Purposeful Incubation – Lessons from Africa
Panelists:
- Mr Henry Kerali, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone
- Djabanor Narh, Partner, Advisory Services, Ernst and Young Ghana
- Ruka Sanusi, Executive Director, Ghana Climate Innovation Centre
- Patrick Awuah, President, Ashesi University
Panel Session 2: The Profit of Incubation – Successfully Exiting an Incubator: The Lows, The Highs, The Expectation
Panelists:
- Eric Nyanteh, CEO, Translight Solar Ltd
- Charles Hansen-Quao, co-Founder, DreamOval
- Gerard Badaweh Yitamkey, CEO and co-Founder, Ahomya.com
- Ivy Appiah, -CEO, Tiwajo Industries Limited
Panel Session 3: The Practice of Incubation – The Privilege and The Responsibility
Panelist:
- Abdul-Nasser Alidu, Entrepreneurship Director, GCIC
- Ebenezer Arthur, CEO, Wangara Capital
- Dr Rethabile Melamu, General Manager, Green Economy, Climate Innovation Centre, South Africa
- Ashwin Ravichandran, Head of Operations and Partnerships, MEST
Key take out from the panelist during their session include:
“….incubators play a critical role, together with business , accelerators and tech hubs to support small and growing businesses” – Henry Kerali
“…….You need to know people who know people…..that is how you can survive as an entrepreneur. What governance structures do you have in place?? We always suggest to entrepreneurs that have their own personal board of directors” – Djabanor Narh
“its really about the mindset change, that we have to move from to dependency to responsibility and we [incubators] are facilitators in the eco-system to help you to get to where you want …” – Ruka Sanusi
“ the idea [of incubation] is to give an entrepreneurial mindset” – Patrick Awuah
The Ghana Climate Innovation Centre (GCIC) is a pioneering business incubator whose objective is to support entrepreneurs and ventures involved in developing profitable and locally appropriate solutions to climate change mitigation and adaptation in Ghana. The Centre’s key focus is on building businesses operating within the areas of energy efficiency, domestic waste management, solar energy, water supply management and purification and climate-smart agriculture. GCIC is part of the World Bank Group’s infoDev Climate Technology Program. Supported by the governments of Denmark and the Netherlands, the Centre is managed by a consortium led by the Ashesi University and including Ernst & Young, SNV Ghana, and the United Nations University Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.