MoMo4C Business Call Gets Winner for Mole Landscape

9th May 2022

After a seven-month intensive scrutiny of proposals and applications, we are happy to announce that Tai Pana Limited, a sole proprietorship enterprise has won first place in the maiden edition of the Mobilising More for Climate (MoMo4C) Business Call targeted at the Mole Ecological Landscape in the Savannah Region of Ghana.

As winner of the competition, Tai Pana gets a €5000 technical support package for them to fully finalize their business idea and attract the needed investment to make the business a reality.

Coming in second and third position are MORE Women and Maga Cosmetics both green businesses in the targeted catchment. They also receive technical support worth €3000 and €2000 respectively.

According to implementers of the MoMo4C project, the technical support will be solely directed at helping the three finalists complete the rudimentary and critical business plans details for the business to be made more attractive to investors.

Additionally, the technical support will also ensure that the business is matched with prospective investors for the implementation of the business innovations submitted under the MoMo4C call.

MoMo4C Business Call

As part of efforts to ensure a Green Business economy in Ghana, A Rocha Ghana and partners in August 2021 opened a call for Climate-smart Green Business initiatives that build climate change resilience and achieve landscape restoration by reducing firewood and Charcoal production related deforestation and improve access to renewable biomass energy.

First 10 finalists in a group photo after a training and consultation session held in the Savannah region

Out of the 39 applications received, 11 businesses were shortlisted for the second stage. The shortlisted applications were critically vetted by an Expert Panel and scored based on how they fulfill all critical elements of a viable green business that addresses the key landscape challenge.

The review and scoring were on the following criteria: legality of the business; sustainability of the business; involvement of women and youth; social acceptability/legitimacy; sustainability of sources of raw materials and contribution to climate action.

Tai Pana Ltd had the highest score per the expert panel review. Again, the company’s business canvas submitted pushed Tai Pana at the forefront of the competition.

Participants were privileged to go on an exchanged visit to Zaacoal Limited

See Finalists visit to zaacoal here

About the winners

Tai Pana is a sole proprietorship enterprise which seeks to produce briquettes from rice husks output of 10,000Mt per year. It currently manages over 1,500 hectares of rice farms across the applicable districts of the call and two mills. The farms and the mills will be the main source of rice husks for the production of the briquettes.

While women and the youth are targeted as potential retailers and local sales agents for the briquettes produced, Tai Pana hopes to address the challenges of firewood and charcoal production related deforestation as well the lack of access to renewable biomass energy.

More Women located on the Sawla-Tuna-Kalba districts in the Savannah Region of Ghana is a social enterprise specialized in the weaving of various items using grass. In their proposition, they seek to use their business to curb the menace of unregulated felling of trees for firewood and charcoal production which are the main risk factors for biodiversity loss, by introducing alternative livelihoods through the weaving of baskets, hats, bags and other marketable items.

According to them, weaving is an eco-friendly economic activity which encourages weavers to become community watchdogs against bushfires to safeguard the grass for weaving straws. The woven items are mostly exported and therefore offers a diversified income stream which in turn, frees the community’s dependent on forestry products. Targets for this business are women.

Maga Cosmetics, a sole proprietorship is stationed in the West Gonja District and produces organic cosmetic out of shea butter and moringa extracts therefore adding value to some of the region’s most priceless raw materials. The business hopes to add value to moringa extract by using it to produce bio-fertilizers, food supplements and water purifiers. The production of bio-fertilizers will address the challenge of heavy reliance on chemical fertilizers which are known contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Maga Cosmetics also seeks to address climate and/or biodiversity risks by planting Moringa oleifera and Shea trees for their businesses.

MoMo4C

The Business Call is under the five-year MoMo4C project funded by the Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry in partnership with IUCN-Netherlands Committee, WWF, and Tropenbos International. The project which began in 2019 seeks to attract innovative finance for climate action using a Landscape Approach.

The MoMo4C is being implemented in Ghana by A Rocha Ghana in the Mole Ecological Landscape in the Savannah Region of Ghana and Tropenbos Ghana in Sefwi Wiawso, Juabeso, and Bia Landscape.