Ghana
Microenterprise Consulting
Chapters provide consulting to small businesses and families in under resourced, rural communities with previously limited to no access to loan capital. Volunteers learn about business challenges, provide financial literacy workshops and develop recommendations to present to key stakeholders.
Business Brigade –
8 Day Sample Schedule
Business Brigade volunteers have the opportunity to work with selected businesses in rural communities to identify opportunities for growth as well as opportunities for new enterprise creation. These businesses are then linked with our partners for additional support.
| Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7 | Day 8 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | Breakfast | |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Community | Transport to Cultural Tour | Transport to Airport & Airline Check in | ||
| 8:00am | |||||||||
| 9:00am | Tour of Projects | Household Surveys | Work with Businesses | Work with Businesses | Work with Businesses | Cultural Tour | |||
| 10:00am | |||||||||
| 11:00am | |||||||||
| 12:00pm | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | Lunch | |||
| 1:00pm | Tour of Projects | Household Surveys | Work with Businesses | Work with Businesses | Preparation of Reports to Partners | Present Reports to Local Partners | |||
| 2:00pm | |||||||||
| 3:00pm | Settle In | ||||||||
| 4:00pm | Introduction to Brigade | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | Transport to Lodging Facility | ||
| 5:00pm | |||||||||
| 6:00pm | Free Time | Free Time | Free Time | Free Time | Free Time | Free Time | |||
| 7:00pm | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | Dinner | ||
| 8:00pm | Business Introduction | Reflection | Reflection & Business Analysis | Reflection & Business Analysis | Reflection & Business Analysis | Reflection & Report Preparation | Final Reflection |
| Day 1 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Airport Pick up and Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 7:00am | |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | |
| 1:00pm | |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | Settle In |
| 4:00pm | Introduction to Brigade |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Business Introduction |
| Day 2 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Tour of Projects |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Tour of Projects |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection |
| Day 3 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Work with Businesses |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Work with Businesses |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Business Analysis |
| Day 4 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Work with Businesses |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Work with Businesses |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Business Analysis |
| Day 5 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Work with Businesses |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Work with Businesses |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Business Analysis |
| Day 6 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Community |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Work with Businesses |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Preparation of Reports to Partners |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Reflection & Business Analysis |
| Day 7 | |
|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast |
| 7:00am | Transport to Cultural Tour |
| 8:00am | |
| 9:00am | Cultural Tour |
| 10:00am | |
| 11:00am | |
| 12:00pm | Lunch |
| 1:00pm | Present Reports to Local Partners |
| 2:00pm | |
| 3:00pm | |
| 4:00pm | Transport to Lodging Facility |
| 5:00pm | |
| 6:00pm | Free Time |
| 7:00pm | Dinner |
| 8:00pm | Final Reflection |
| Day 8 | ||
|---|---|---|
| 6:00am | Breakfast | |
| 7:00am | Transport to Airport & Airline Check In | |
| 8:00am | ||
| 9:00am | ||
| 10:00am | ||
| 11:00am | ||
| 12:00pm | ||
| 1:00pm | ||
| 2:00pm | ||
| 3:00pm | ||
| 4:00pm | ||
| 5:00pm | ||
| 6:00pm | ||
| 7:00pm | ||
| 8:00pm | ||
Costs and Fundraising
In order to participate in a Business Brigade, all volunteers must meet a Donation Goal by fundraising as part of their commitment to a Brigades Chapter. This is not considered a payment for a specific trip, but support towards Global Brigades’ Holistic Model.
Donation Goals for Ghana Brigades start at $3450 USD*.
Once you meet a set Donation Goal, you’re eligible to join us on the ground to see your fundraising efforts put into action by participating in a Business Brigade.
When you participate in a Business Brigade, your airfare, ground transportation, food, lodging, and emergency insurance are all covered. The funding you raised also supports all the necessary costs for program implementation, such as brigade equipment, local professionals, translators, and support staff.
Global Brigades’ travel team will work with your Brigade to book airfare**.
Once a volunteer meets their Donation Goal, they have up to 1 year to participate in a Business Brigade.
*coming from outside the US? Talk to our team about donation goals.
** for UK and Canadian Chapters, airfare is not included in your Donation Goal
Donation Goals for 2023-2024 Ghana 8-Day Business Brigades
| Volunteers | Donation Goal (USD) | Donation Goal (CAD) | Donation Goal (GBP) |
| 10+ | $3,450 USD | Talk to our team about CAD donation goals. | Talk to our team about GBP donation goals. |
*Chapters with less than 10 volunteers must be paired with another chapter.
Community Investment Fund
A portion of each Donation Goal supports our Community Investment Fund which enables year-round funding for small business loans and capacity building within community banks. Specifically, the fund supports (1) community bank capitalization for small business loans (2) on-going project monitoring and impact evaluation (3) community bank committee training and follow-up (4) caja Rural Board of Directors Training Summit and (5) program management, planning and follow up.
Safety
Volunteer safety will always be our absolute top priority. Global Brigades recently engaged Askari International Security, an industry leader in international risk assessment, to complete a comprehensive risk/safety assessment of all brigade operations. A full explanation of safety precautions and procedures can be found on our “Safety & Insurance” page.
In Ghana
- Global Brigades is an active member of OSAC (the Overseas Security Advisory Committee) and the Africa Regional Council (ARC) and receives up-to-date security and safety briefings from the U.S. State Department;
- Established relationship with local police in the Central Region to provide monitoring of volunteer activity on brigades;
- Full-time local Global Brigades medical personnel on-call at all times;
- Adherence to the IVPA standards of international volunteering.
Lodging Facilities
Global Brigades does an annual safety review of all lodging facility partners each year. Lodging facilities provide pillows, bedsheets and towels. Facilities have showers, toilets and sinks with running water (no hot water) as well as filtered clean drinking water dispensers onsite. 24-hour security is provided at all facilities. Conditions are most similar to a comfortable summer camp, with dormitory-style sleeping and shared bathrooms.
Business Brigades are assigned to lodging facilities based on proximity to the partner community they will be working with.
Weda Ocean View Resort
Weda Ocean View Resort is located 30 minutes from the historical Ghanaian town of Cape Coast along the sandy beach of the Atlantic Ocean on the Accra-Cape Coast highway. The brick hotel situated on top of hill overlooks the Atlantic Ocean and the Anomabo Township and has a rooftop terrace where guests can relax and enjoy the salty sea breeze.
The rooms are fitted with air conditioners, refrigerators, writing desks, armchairs, and wardrobes. Each room has a private bathroom with complimentary toiletries.
Weda Ocean View Resort’s restaurant is operated by trained staff of Global Brigades and serves the best of local and continental cuisines. Laundry service is provided at no cost to volunteers once a week.
Weda Ocean View Resort is also 1.5 hours from the Ekumfi District where all Global Brigades Ghana communities are located.
Bobmah Hotel
Bobmah Hotel is located at Abura Dunkwa, about 30 minutes North-West of Cape
Coast in the Abura Asebu Kwamankese (AAK) District of Ghana. one of the two
Districts that GB Ghana works with. The facility is located in Abura Dunkwa which is
about 5 minutes drive from the Abura Asebu Kwamankese District Assembly Office and
also 30-40 minutes away from most of the communities that GB Ghana works with.
The facility has a total of 18 en suite rooms with air-conditioning. It is also well fenced and gated with 24 hour security present and CCTV cameras fitted at all corners to
ensure the safety and security of volunteers at all times.
