ATE is delighted have won a Global Good Award in the Community Partnership category for our innovative BizATE work carried out in partnership with Commercial Education Trust.
BizATE is a small business development training programme which tackles deepening poverty in Lawra Municipality, Ghana where the majority of the population struggle to survive on subsistence farming. It does so by enabling the set-up and growth of small enterprises through training and mentoring to ensure their success in an extremely challenging economic environment. Workshops are tailored to a range of trade groups and designed to work inclusively for small business owners whom mostly have low levels of literacy. Investing in training of local trainers is a key element, enabling local people to facilitate change in their community.
Since 2012, BizATE has supported 99 small businesses with seed grants and essential business skills training, the vast majority of whom struggled to survive on subsistence farming and had no income at all prior to participating in the programme. This work aims to end poverty by enabling entrepreneurs of small enterprises to thrive, to generate income, and increase profits and savings in order to provide for themselves and their families, now and sustainably into the future. This project focuses on developing skills in commercial education, to ensure the businesses have every chance of success.
As this project continues to evolve, and we continue to learn, grow and develop the programme, and expand our reach. We deeply value the support of our partners at the Commercial Education Trust which enables us to continue to increase efficiency, drive forward recommendations made by beneficiaries and staff, and (vitally) plan to fully hand over program delivery to local Ghanaian Staff.
We constantly strive to do the best work we possibly can – improvements in structure and delivery will continue to increase the sustainability of ATE’s BizATE Programme, as well as the sustainability of the entrepreneurs supported by this programme.
We are excited and proud to have been recognised so publicly for this area of our poverty reduction work, and, which ever prize we win, we will celebrate with gusto this afternoon.
By Sarah Gardner