The Government of Ghana has announced plans to transform the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP) into a Ghana Startup Agency, with dedicated funding and legislative backing to strengthen support for startups, entrepreneurs and innovative businesses.
NEIP Chief Executive Officer Eric Adjei, Esq., disclosed the plan at the International Conference on Business Innovation and Incubation in South Africa on Thursday, October 1, 2026.
Mr Adjei said the proposed agency would provide a specialised institutional framework to coordinate Ghana’s startup ecosystem and develop targeted interventions for entrepreneurship and innovation.
The transition will move NEIP beyond its current status as a special-purpose vehicle for implementing government entrepreneurship programmes and establish a dedicated agency with a broader mandate.
“This transition is not a mere change in the name of an institution but a bold commitment to redefining Ghana’s entrepreneurship and innovation ecosystem,” Mr Adjei said.
Under the proposed arrangement, government expects the agency to strengthen the national startup pipeline, improve coordination among institutions supporting entrepreneurs and deepen connections between businesses, venture capital firms and private investors.
The initiative is also expected to improve the commercialisation of research, strengthen incubation and acceleration programmes, expand market access and provide more targeted assistance to technology-driven and innovative enterprises.
Beyond grants to patient capital
Mr Adjei said the institutional reform forms part of a broader effort to move Ghana’s entrepreneurship policy beyond simply providing grants to young people.
He argued that entrepreneurs require an integrated support system combining training, incubation, mentorship, technology, finance, market access and strategic partnerships.
“An entrepreneur does not need money alone; an entrepreneur needs a robust, coordinated, and integrated ecosystem to build a sustainable business,” he stated.
As part of that approach, NEIP and the Venture Capital Trust Fund (VCTF) have established a fund to provide debt and equity financing to businesses with strong growth potential.
The financing arrangement is intended to provide patient and growth capital to help selected businesses expand, create employment and scale their operations.
10,887 entrepreneurs supported
Mr Adjei also disclosed that the first cohort of the government’s Adwumawura Programme has provided capacity building, mentorship and business advisory services to 10,887 young entrepreneurs.
Of that number, 3,625 beneficiaries received grants through a competitive process overseen by an independent Grant Management Committee.
The programme is designed to support at least 10,000 young entrepreneurs every year through training, mentorship, technical assistance, funding, market access and business advisory services.
NEIP is also preparing to train 5,000 students annually under the Students Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development Programme (SEED), beginning with a pilot involving 36 tertiary institutions.
Mr Adjei said the initiative seeks to turn universities into environments where students can develop businesses, test ideas and prototypes, identify markets and build commercially viable solutions alongside their academic work.
He argued that Africa’s entrepreneurship challenge has moved beyond generating ideas to creating systems capable of financing innovation, commercialising research and turning promising ventures into sustainable businesses.
“Our ambition must, therefore, go beyond creating more entrepreneurs,” Mr Adjei said, calling for stronger collaboration among governments, universities, financial institutions, businesses and innovation hubs across the continent.
