NEIP Hubs Acceleratoin Grant Programme (HAGP)

The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) is a flagship policy initiative of the government of Ghana. NEIP is part of the technical implementation partners of component 3 of the Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP) which is Accelerating Entrepreneurship and SME growth and supporting entrepreneurship and SME growth in non-resource-based sectors, addressing specifically the limited development of the SME and entrepreneurship support ecosystem, including early-stage financing.

As part of this component, NEIP is calling for applications from eligible Incubation hubs, Innovation hubs or Accelerators to apply for grant support to selected Hubs to carry out business incubator and acceleration programs for start-ups and SMEs.
Call for Proposals: Objective, Scope, and Eligibility

• OBJECTIVE: The Objective of the Business Incubation/ Acceleration Programme Grants (“BIAP Grants”) is to support selected entrepreneurship Incubation/innovation hubs to carry out business incubation and acceleration programs for start-ups and build the capacity of the Hubs as well.
• SCOPE: This call for application is being done in the context of ecosystem strengthening with targeted support to incubation hubs capacity, resourcing, implementation, and sustainability. The scope of this grant call is in two folds (1) to support and build the capacity of the Hubs through the Benchmarking exercise and (2) to designing and implement a one-year Acceleration programme to improve the business systems of selected 20 selected start-ups. This Call is opened to all the Incubation Hubs in the Ghanaian Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem to apply for a grant support of up to $200,000.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: ELIGIBLE INNOVATION HUBS that would be selected should have the following

1. Must be legally registered in Ghana.
2. Ownership must be 100% Ghanaian.
3. Must have operated as an Enterprise Support Organization in Ghana for at least three (3) years.
4. Core expertise in Entrepreneurship Support and business acceleration. Demonstrated experience in designing and building substantial entrepreneurship support programs, from the design phase to final implementation in Ghana.
5. Must be able to present a qualified and competent team of Business Development Experts, Mentors, Trainers, etc. The team should have relevant academic qualifications and relevant experience.
6. Must be able to demonstrate standard business practices such as governance, bookkeeping and accounting, annual audited financial statements, tax compliance, etc.
7. Must be ready to contribute in-kind resources such as staff time and physical locations to the program.
8. Must have adequate space to host the intended program for start-ups.
9. Show Traction of Previous Work Experience with detailed Profile
10. Must Submit a two-year financial report.
11. Must submit a one-year Acceleration Programme concept design for start-ups.