Green Lion

Green Lion is a Ghanaian company that provides goods and services to small informal businesses, facilitating their access to credit, products and technological tools for the management and professionalisation of their businesses.

Investment

Country: Ghana
Starting date: September 2021
Sector: Retail / fintech
Instrument: Loan
Investment: 300.000 EUR

Company Description

Green Lion is a Ghanaian company that provides goods and services to small informal shops, which represent a $600 billion market and are vital to the economies of many African countries.

These small shops, which sell around 90% of all consumer goods to low-income customers, are owned overwhelmingly by women entrepreneurs with few resources. By facilitating access to credit or managing their stock, Green Lion empowers thousands of African women entrepreneurs, improving their livelihoods and transforming their communities.

Since launching in 2018, Green Lion has expanded to 4 cities within Ghana. 

Social Challenges Addressed

Small retailers suffer the consequences of an inefficient supply chain with a large number of intermediaries that make the final products more expensive, with the added bonus that this chain is not digitised and lacks transparency. 

Traders, the vast majority of whom are poor women, go to the nearby local market to buy the products they are going to sell. The time they spend on this task means closing the shop for a few hours, which has an impact on sales. In addition, unstable supply increases the risk of stock-outs and the inability to meet customer demand.  

Another problem identified by Green Lion is the lack of training of the population, which hinders the professional development of young Ghanaians.

Proposed solution

Key SDGs supported

oi7@4x

oi8@4x

oi9@4x

SDG 10

Green Lion has created an e-commerce and distribution network for retailers that contributes to the professionalisation of their businesses, helping traders to obtain quality products at lower prices and to manage their business more efficiently through increased knowledge of their sales and stocks. 

It does this by making a wide variety of products available to Ghana’s small informal businesses, ensuring consistency of supply, and by providing the tools and training to facilitate the day-to-day running and control of these businesses’ operations.

Finally, it facilitates access to services that were previously unavailable, such as micro-loans or insurance services.

About Global Social Impact Investments

Global Social Impact Investments SGIIC SAU is an impact investment funds manager that helps investors achieve positive social and environmental impact together with financial returns.

GSI is part of Santa Comba Gestión SL, a family holding that brings together projects promoting freedom through knowledge.

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