Deadline: 11-Dec-20
The SNV Netherlands has announced a call for proposals for the GrEEn Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) Programme with an aim to create greater economic and employment opportunities for youth, women and returning migrants by promoting and supporting sustainable, green businesses in two selected regions in Ghana: Ashanti and Western.
The Boosting Green Employment and Enterprise Opportunities in Ghana (GrEEn) project is a four-year action from the European Union, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Ghana, SNV Netherlands Development Organisation and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).
The GrEEn Project will use SNV’s Opportunities for Youth Employment (OYE) Approach to improve young people’s:
- Work readiness;
- Curriculum vitae (CV) and cover letter preparation;
- Soft skills (time and stress management, diversity and inclusiveness, interview tips, managing personal budget etc).
- Access to internships and on the job-technical placements;
- Employment placements;
- Access to finance;
- Market development and linkages;
- Business regulatory compliance;
- Business start-ups and self-employment.
The programme consists of:
- Onsite and online employability and entrepreneurship skills training;
- Coaching and mentoring to support a smooth transition from training to the world of work or business development;
- Pitching sessions;
- Opportunity to compete for a matching grant from the GrEEn Business Plan Competition.
Sectors
- Agriculture, including climate-smart agriculture, agri-businesses and agro-processing.
- Energy, including clean cooking, solar systems, energy efficiency.
- WASH, including waste management, water purification, recycling, production of cleaning and sanitary products.
What is a green business?
A green business is one which contributes to protecting and restoring the natural environment and reduces any harm caused to it. In the context of the GrEEn project (insert a link to the main GrEEn page), green businesses may include one or all of the following aspects:
- Efficient use of resources, e.g. energy, water, etc.
- Protection of natural resources, e.g. soil, water, forests, biodiversity.
- Reduction of waste and losses (especially in relation to food crops) along the value chains: e.g. through solar drying, solar cooling facilities.
- Promoting the circular economy, e.g. re-use, upcycling, recycling.
- Reduction of carbon emissions.
- Resilience against climate change, e.g. conservation agriculture and climate-smart agriculture.
- Reduction of waste and pollution.
Benefits
- Participation in three-month employability or entrepreneurship skills development support from partner Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET)/skills development training institutions.
- Improved employability opportunities through work readiness support services such as CV and cover letter writing, internship and job placement, transferable skills development, etc.
- Improved entrepreneurship opportunities through business start-up readiness and growth support services such development of Business Model Canvas and proof of concept of ideas/products, access to financial services such as crowdfunding, concessional financing, etc.
- Access to industry experts, past service recipients and successful businessmen/women (local) who will serve as mentors.
- Market linkages to complementary businesses, service providers and actors in the green ecosystem.
- Peer-to-peer networking and exchanges.
Criteria
- All applications (online and offline) submitted to GrEEn will be screened and sorted out.
- GrEEn staff and partner service providers will review the applications according to the established standard set of criteria.
- Successful applicants that pass the initial screening and review will be invited for interviews to discuss their interests and motivation in more detail.
- An interview panel made up of GrEEn staff, partner service providers and any other relevant stakeholder will be constituted.
- Based on the decision of the interview panel or committee, participants of the GrEEn project’s OYE programme will be selected.
For more information, visit https://snv.org/update/green-opportunities-youth-employment-oye-programme-call