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The British Council and Impact Hub Accra have launched the Duapa Challenge, aimed at empowering early-stage social enterprises in areas such as healthcare, agriculture, financial inclusion, sustainable energy and education.

As part of the the challenge, for which applications are open until February 26, 10 selected finalists will join a two-day hyper-accelerator bootcamp and pitch competition at Impact Hub Accra.

The winner will be given the opportunity to travel to London to represent Ghana at the British Council Entrepreneurial Africa project in London, and will also receive seed capital and incubation.

The organisers said the challenge was an important one as social enterprises in Ghana are increasingly becoming vital parts of local economic growth and employment, as well as active change agents in communities around the country.

“They are offering a new generation of active young people, much needed opportunities and enabling a more equitable and sustainable development. But their potential is all too often obstructed. In the most challenging Ghanaian environments, early stage social enterprises face a stifling range of interconnected challenges such as non-existent early stage investment opportunities and a lack of relevant market insight,” the organisers said.

In order to help the nascent social enterprise community of entrepreneurs, the British Council is focused on grassroots initiatives to drive and shape conversations around inclusive business. The Duapa Challenge is one such intervention, aiming to build a robust ecosystem to support early stage social innovation.

“This forms a part of the British Council’s Global Social Enterprise programme which draws on the UK’s expertise to support the development of social enterprise in the UK and other countries. The bootcamp will focus on investment preparedness and business model validation,” the organisers said.

“The Business Model Validation Lab is designed to help early/idea-stage entrepreneurs rapidly identify and validate the foundational assumptions of their business. The Investment Preparedness Lab is designed to help early-stage entrepreneurs prepare to meet with funders and take on investment.”

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