On December 12th, 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the Partnership Opportunity Delegation (POD) which would take place in Accra, Ghana from February 6th-10th, 2023. The POD would aim to enable the facilitation and growth of partnerships involving the United States’ private sector and the growing West African climate innovation and business ecosystem. The POD announcement was made by Secretary Blinken on the eve of the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit, during the Innovators Gathering. It is another positive step in the US’s efforts to forge deeper ties with Africa.
Participants at POD
POD Ghana 2023 will be the first event of its kind to be held in person since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Delegates expected to attend the POD include representatives from startups and ventures, startup ecosystem developers, educational institutions, and climate and sustainable technology investors. Representatives from NGOs (non-governmental organizations), international organizations, and the Ghanaian diaspora are also expected to attend. Organizations such as Climate Kic, New York City’s Impact Hub, Arm, and LinkedIn have committed to attending the POD.
PODs are organized by the U.S. Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships to create an environment that allows the formation of partnerships between the public and private sectors of the U.S. and selected countries.
POD Ghana 2023 will see a meeting of minds eager to create new relationships and developments regarding economic development and solutions to the climate crisis. Delegates will participate in meetings involving Ghana’s public and private sector leaders. There will be opportunities to engage directly with climate innovators and witness the potential of partnerships with Ghana’s sustainable entrepreneurship ecosystem. A statement from the State Department’s Office said, “POD Ghana 2023 demonstrates how the public and private sectors can contribute jointly to endeavors that strengthen, deepen, and reaffirm the United States’ commitment to increasing creative collaboration with African nations in the advancement of our shared global priorities, challenges, and opportunities.”
POD Ghana 2023 is part of the Connecting Climate Entrepreneurs (CCE) initiative. CEE is a public-private partnership between the Department of State’s Office of Global Partnerships and the private sector. CCE aims to facilitate opportunities to take advantage of the US entrepreneurial ecosystem to grow climate entrepreneurship worldwide.
