About Us

Engineered to be a unique provider of growth capital, Growth Investment Partners (GIP) has been custom-built to deploy partnership capital to Ghanaian Companies.

How we came to be

Jan2020

Incubation

BII & Founding Management team partnering to frame the problem and design the institution’s blueprint

Jan2021

Design

Creating a business operating model built for the Ghanaian business landscape

Nov2022

Creation

Co-creation of products with input from 300 Ghanaian businesses and establishing foundation of the business

Jul2023

Launch

GIP is licensed by the SEC in June 2023 and is launched as a business

A truly unique funding mechanism

Established to 

  • Provide self-liquidating products to increase capital access & unlock growth
  • Fund predominantly in local currency for broad access
  • Use flexible features to share in risk-reward
  • Provide knowledge capital via business support services

Outcomes 

  • Scaling enterprises and creating employment
  • Generating a return for our investors
  • Increases sources of capital for businesses
  • Increasing access to black-owned and led businesses
  • Increasing access to female-led & owned businesses 

Structured to help our companies scale and our communities thrive

A Truly local entity
Co-Designed with and for the Ghanaian SME, licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission and predominantly funding in local currency
The GIP team has been providing growth capital in Ghana since 1995. Simply put: no investment partner on the market comes with more experience.

Something like: successful business growth is when the right strategy and team meets the right blend of funding and business support.

As a permanent capital vehicle, GIP has been established to be an enduring partner in your long term growth journey.

The Board of Directors

Albert Essien

Independent Chair

Rosemary Yeboah

Independent Director

Jacob Kholi

Chief Executive and Investment Officer

Benson Adenuga

Non-Executive Director

The team

Benedicta Wontumi

Head of Credit Risk

Isaac Owusu-Ansah

Head of Finance and Administration

Kwadwo Adjei-Barwuah

Head of Investments

Hose Kakane

Investment Manager

Karl Ocran

Investment Manager

Iris Baaba Asaase

Investment Associate

Sheree Naa Dedei Hammond

Finance Executive

Nana Akosua Prempeh

Administrative Manager

Kyerewaa Osei Mensah

Environmental, Social and Impact Manager

Precious Quartey-Papafio

Legal Counsel

Angela Bentum

Investment Analyst

Yvonne Edzordzinam Titiati

Portfolio Administration Officer

Emmanuel Astro Brempong

Office Assistant

Our shareholder | British international investment

BII brings over 75 years of experience financing businesses across Africa

The UK’s Development Finance Institution and impact investor with over 75 years of experience supporting private sector growth and innovation.

Provides long-term and flexible capital with investments in over 1,500 businesses in emerging economies and total net assets of c. £8.5 billion.

Invests across a broad range of sectors that drive job creation, stimulate productivity and advance sustainable development in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean. Is a founding member of the 2X Challenge, which has raised over $33 billion to empower women’s economic development.

Has a long history in Ghana and played a pioneering role in supporting private equity funds – launched its first sub-Saharan fund (Ghana Venture Capital Fund) in 1992.

A growing portfolio in Ghana of over $130 million invested across 37 companies in a range of sectors including financial services, agriculture, infrastructure, manufacturing and more.

Excluded Activities are:

  1. the mining or extracting of precious metals and other geological materials (but excluding services to companies engaged in such activities);
  2. the production of, or trade in:
    • hazardous chemicals, pharmaceuticals, pesticides and wastes, as specified in the 2004 Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants; the 2004 Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade; the 1992 Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal and WHO Recommended Classification of Pesticides by Hazard Class 1a (extremely hazardous); or 1b (highly hazardous);
    • ozone depleting substances, as specified in the 1999 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer;
    • endangered or protected wildlife or wildlife products, as specified in the 1975 Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species or Wild Flora and Fauna;
    • any other product or activity deemed illegal under applicable local or national laws or regulations or subject to internationally agreed phase-outs or bans as defined in global conventions and agreements;
    • arms (i.e. weapons, munitions or nuclear products, primarily designated for military purposes); or
    • radioactive materials (excluding medical equipment, quality control (measurement) equipment, civilian power generation and any equipment in which the radioactive source could reasonably be considered to be trivial or adequately shielded);
  3. the production of, use of, or trade in unbonded asbestos fibres;
  4. unsustainable fishing methods such as blast fishing and drift net fishing in the marine environment using nets in excess of 2.5 kilometres in length;
  5. prostitution; and
  6. any of the following, to the extent that the activities represent more than 10% of the Group’s underlying portfolio volumes:
    • gambling, gaming casinos and equivalent enterprises;
    • tobacco or tobacco related products (except where the Group proposes to cease such activities completely within a period agreed with BII); or
    • pornography.
  7. speculative and/or unregulated use of cryptocurrencies;
  8. AI where it poses “unacceptable risk” as defined in the EU AI Act 2021;
  9. social media targeting children and other vulnerable people, and dating apps;
  10. products and services primarily designed for national security and intelligence services (e.g., NSO Group) where there is a reasonable risk of human rights abuses;
  11. any business if alcoholic beverages (except beer and wine) represent a substantial portion of such business;
  12. animal and human cloning, or;
  13. prisons and detention centres;
  14. any healthcare facility dedicated to high end cosmetic procedures and/or surgeries; and any private multi-specialty hospital that does not satisfy at least one of the Hospital Investment Criteria.
  15. Any educational institution or facility where companies are primarily involved in private, fee-charging schools that provide education from kindergarten (or equivalent) to the final year prior to tertiary level education, or companies that primarily provide educational services to private, fee-charging schools such that they resemble private fee-charging schools (“Barred K-12 Activity”).
The “Hospital Investment Criteria” shall be deemed satisfied if, at the date of the investment, the private multi-specialty hospital either significantly serves or demonstrates an intention to serve: (i) patients in the target segment of government payor public schemes; or (ii) patients living on US$ 8.00 or less per day. Investments in single specialty hospitals, and primary and secondary care chains are not subject to the Hospital Investment Criteria. ‘Primarily’ for purposes of 15 above ‎is defined as where (i) for companies, more than 10% of its consolidated balance sheet or earnings, or (ii) for financial institutions, more than 10% of its portfolio volumes, comes from a Barred K-12 Activity.