Africa’s environment ministers discuss Green Business Development potential

Under the auspices of the 16th African Ministerial Conference on Environment session (AMCEN 16), Ministers of Environment from the six SWITCH Africa Green pilot countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, South Africa and Uganda) discussed the enabling environment for green business development in Africa.

The Ministers shared their assessment on the opportunities and challenges faced by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in greening their businesses in Africa. Against a backdrop of African economies being highly dependent on natural resources, prioritizing transition to a green economy potentially offers opportunities for the region to attract investments in environmental assets; promote resource efficient production processes; encourage Eco-innovation and investments in renewable energy, which will support economic development, reduce poverty and create employment.

“Today the private sector is a key partner for government. We are living in an era in which businesses and governments need to work together.

We need complete sustainability in the business culture and operations in our countries” said Hon. Patricia Appiagyei, Deputy Minister of Environment, Ghana. Other countries also expressed interest in being included in the programme which has registered positive results in its first phase currently being implemented.

“The implementation of SWITCH Africa confirms the huge potential of green business development to growth and jobs. In a recent survey based on a sample of SWITCH Africa grantees, project partners reported they had created an average of 295 “green jobs” per project. If all 34 projects supported under SWITCH Africa Green have created so many jobs, it means that the programme has already created more than 10,000 jobs in total”, said Mr. Bernard Crabbe (European Union) who gave the opening remarks during the meeting.

SWITCH Africa Green project has supported more than 3,000 Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the uptake of Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) practices across four main sectors - Agriculture, Manufacturing, Tourism and Waste management. Some of these enterprises from the six pilot countries participated in an exhibition during the meeting.

This demonstrates that green business development is important in protecting the environment, creating jobs and providing livelihoods for the bulging population in Africa.