Green Afro-Palms wins Sankalp West Africa Enterprise Award

Green Afro-Palms (GAP), a Ghanaian agribusiness focused on sustainable palm oil production, has been awarded the prestigious Sankalp West Africa Entrepreneurship Award at the 2023 Sankalp West Africa Summit.

The event, held at the UPSA Auditorium in Accra, brought together over 300 change-makers, entrepreneurs, and investors from across West Africa to discuss sustainable development and entrepreneurship in the region.

The summit, themed "Catalysing Collaborations for Entrepreneur-led Development in West Africa," sought to promote partnerships in support of entrepreneurs and drive critical discussions on areas such as climate and energy, agriculture, health and nutrition, circular economy, financial inclusion, and gender and livelihoods.

The event also featured the Sankalp West Africa Awards, which aimed to recognize and reward high-impact enterprises.

GAP, co-owned by Ing. Kwame Ababio, emerged as the overall winner of the Sankalp Enterprise Award.

Mr Ababio expressed his motivation to help West Africa reclaim its leading position in palm oil production, stating, "My intention is to empower society."

Other notable awardees included Shaq Express, a Ghana-based logistics company owned by Anthony Owusu-Ansah, which was named 2nd Runner-up, and Kitovu Technology, a Nigerian agtech startup co-owned by Nwachinemere Emeka, which secured the 1st Runner-up position.

The Ecosystem Award was presented to Pad-Up Creations, a Nigerian social enterprise founded by Olivia Onyemaobi.

The Sankalp West Africa Summit is an initiative of Intellecap, a part of the Aavishkaar Group, and is aimed at building an entrepreneurial ecosystem to catalyze collaborations and contribute towards driving a sustainable economic and inclusive agenda for West Africa.

Over the past 14 years, Sankalp has helped entrepreneurs raise over USD 800 million in funding and disbursed over USD 1.2 million in cash grants.

The summit featured insightful panel discussions, including one moderated by Ghanaian media personality Anita Erskine, which focused on promoting entrepreneurship in Africa.

Panelists emphasized the importance of bridging the gap between formal and informal enterprises, engaging in healthy activism to influence government policies, and ensuring "leave no one behind" is at the heart of policy-making and innovation.

According to a report shared on the organizer's website, the awards serve as an inspiration to other entrepreneurs in the region and highlight the essence of the Sankalp Summit in fostering the development of West African entrepreneurship.