The Ghana Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (GVCA) is growing into a critical convening power in the market. GVCA serves as a catalyst for the industry by empowering its members with the knowledge, resources and connections needed to fuel investment, innovation and sustainable development across the country. GhISP supports GVCA to enhance its financial sustainability and operational efficiency, and to expand its member services such as skills development, cross-promotion of toolkits and guidance, pensions research and matchmaking among ecosystem actors and GVCA members – including through the SME Advisory Campaign. Joint activities include:

The SME Advisory Campaign: This initiative, launched in early 2024, began as a collaboration between GhISP, GVCA and the ‘Big Four’ professional service firms: Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC. The aim is to enhance SME access to pre-investment and deal advisory services, thereby improving their investment readiness to facilitate access to capital for growth and expansion.

Firms participating in the campaign commit to offering investment readiness and deal advisory services at significantly reduced costs (50–70% discounts) while trialing SME-targeted service delivery models. GVCA, with our support, is now the lead on the SME Advisory Campaign, as well as on the capacity building of transaction advisors joining the campaign.

Participating advisory firms:

To date, more than 30 SMEs have been matched with transaction advisory service providers through GhISP’s SME Advisory campaign. These companies are receiving tailored technical assistance, including support with financial modelling, investment structuring and investor engagement—often at subsidised rates. This support is helping SMEs strengthen their investment readiness and improve access to finance.

Promoting gender-lens investing and addressing workplace harassment: In collaboration with Impact Investing Ghana and British International Investment, GVCA and GhISP organised training sessions on gender-lens investing and managing gender-based violence and harassment in the workplace. These sessions aim to integrate gender considerations into investment processes and promote inclusive workplace practices.

Supporting climate-positive SMEs: GVCA and GhISP have engaged in initiatives to connect SMEs undertaking climate-positive actions with capital providers. By organising stakeholder engagements, we aim to facilitate funding opportunities for SMEs contributing to environmental sustainability.

Through these collaborative efforts, GVCA and GhISP are working to create a more inclusive and robust investment environment in Ghana, supporting SMEs’ growth and contributing to the country’s economic development.

The GhISP team with GVCA CEO, Amma Gyampo

“GhISP has been a strategic partner to GVCA from the very start of our market building journey, supporting our Annual Conference and regular ecosystem convenings.

“For GVCA, the next level is to facilitate the deepening of such support - more technical assistance for our local private equity firms, institutional investors and startups ripe for the type of long-term, specialised investment our industry offers for example.

“By enabling technical talent, co-investments and catalytic partnerships, we can position domestic capital to attract even greater international investment to power jobs in the real economy.” Amma Gyampo CEO, GVCA