The 2024 edition of the Ghana SMEs and Startup Week (GSSW) has been launched, setting the tone for a momentous occasion dedicated to driving entrepreneurial success and enhancing meaningful connections among businesses in Ghana.
This year’s event promises to be a transformative platform offering unparalleled investment opportunities, cutting-edge business insights, and a collaborative environment addressing critical issues related to jobs, skills, and entrepreneurship.
Under the theme “Fueling Startup Success, Lighting the Path to Greatness,” GSSW positions itself as the spark that ignites SME and startup success and illuminates their path to greatness, creating a dynamic ecosystem where innovation thrives, insights ignite action, and connections fuel growth. At Ghana SMEs and Startup Week, every idea has the potential to change the world, every connection opens doors, and every moment is an opportunity to realize dreams.
Speaking at the launch, CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovations Program (NEIP), Kofi Ofosu Nkansah expressed his delight and highlighted the need for such a week dedicated to celebrating SMEs and startups and discussing various ecosystem-related issues, including effective policy frameworks needed to support SME and startup growth.
Director of Policy Planning, Monitoring, and Evaluation at the Ghana Enterprise Agency, Philomena Dsane, who represented the CEO, stressed the role of data-driven decision-making in shaping the SME and startup ecosystem and declared her outfit’s support for the SMEs and Startup Week.
Deputy Director of Innovation at the Ministry of Environment, Science, Technology, and Innovation, Nashiru Salifu emphasized the importance of innovation in driving economic growth and stated his Ministry’s commitment to supporting Ghanaian SMEs and startups to leverage technology, research development, and commercialization to scale beyond borders.
On his part, the President of the Association of Ghana Startups, Solomon Adjei stated that the SME and startup ecosystem in Ghana is poised for exponential growth, and GSSW 2024 is the perfect catalyst to ignite this growth, calling on all ecosystem players to unite to fuel SME and startup success and light their path to greatness.
Key highlights of GSSW 2024 include exclusive investment opportunities, where SMEs and startups can connect with investors seeking to support innovative businesses, providing the financial boost needed for growth. Participants will gain cutting-edge business insights and valuable knowledge from industry experts and thought leaders through workshops, panel discussions, and keynote sessions, as well as meaningful connections and networking with like-minded entrepreneurs and development practitioners to deepen collaborations and partnerships.
GSSW 2024 will feature key activities such as the Ghana SMEs and Startups Summit, Fintech Startups Forum, Agritech Startups Forum, AI/IoT Startups Forum, Pitch Sessions, Ghana SMEs and Startups Trade Expo, and will culminate with the Ghana Innovations and Startup Awards, where deserving innovators and entrepreneurs will be recognized and celebrated. Following the success of sponsoring top winners of GSSW 2023 to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in South Africa, Solomon announced that GSSW 2024’s top winners will have the opportunity to attend the Web Summit in Lisbon, Portugal, as well as the Global Entrepreneurship Congress in the USA.
Solomon called on corporate Ghana to join as partners and invited all SMEs, startups, and other corporations to visit www.ghanastartupweek.org to register, attend, and exhibit at the event.
