Elsie Addo Awadzi
THE BANK of Ghana (BoG) has iterated its commitment to promoting gender equity in finance and access to finance for women-owned businesses in the country.
Second Deputy Governor for BoG, Elsie Addo Awadzi at the launch of the Affirmative Finance Action for Women in Africa (AFAWA) Finance Series, stressed on the contributions of women to the national economy and the need for them to be supported.
The AFAWA, a three-day event put together by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB), the African Guarantee Fund (AGF) and the Ghana Association of Banks, was aimed at introducing to stakeholders in Ghana, key interventions to promote gender inclusive finance in Africa and also to provide a unique platform to discuss pertinent issues regarding access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Africa.
According to Madam Awadzi, access to finance has been a major constraint for women-owned businesses despite the critical role they play in the economic developmentof Africa, with an estimated US$42 billion financing shortfall for African women-owned businesses as estimated by the AfDB across all value chains.
This, she bemoaned, translates into constrained overall economic growth and resilience, and lost opportunities for all.
The market for finance for women empowered businesses in Africa therefore remains untapped, and holds significant promise for financial institutions thatgovernments need to tap into, she added.
“Indeed, it is well-established by existing literature that improving women access to finance positively impacts consumption levels, increases economic growth and socio- economic development, promotes financial stability, and improves overall resilience of economies.
Broadly speaking, promoting gender inclusive finance serves as a catalyst for rapid, sustainable, and resilient economic growth and socio-economic development”, she noted.
On interventions by her outfit, Madam Awadzi indicated that BoG, in addition to providing the enabling regulatory environment to promote financial stability, was also “fully committed to promoting inclusive finance and gender inclusive finance particularly.”
“As a member of the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, the Bank of Ghana has made commitments under the Denarau Action Plan on Gender Inclusive Finance, to advance gender inclusive finance with emphasis on promoting women’s access, usage and quality of financial services and products”, she disclosed.
BY Nii Adjei Mensahfio