Create Fund For Women Entrepreneurs

Some women entrepreneurs in a group photograph with the deputy minister after the opening ceremony

Government has been urged to establish a special fund to support the operations of women entrepreneurs across Ghana.

The call was made by key women entrepreneurs and business executives on Monday, June 4 this year in Accra at the opening session of the two-day Ghana Women Entrepreneurship Summit (GWES).

The summit, organized by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) under the theme, Ghanaian Women Entrepreneurs: From Voices to Action,” focused on identifying innovative ways to assist women entrepreneurs in Ghana to create jobs and participate in industrialization to foster economic growth.

Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Samba Foods, Leticia Osafo-Addo, said that it was very difficult for women to access funding in the country for entrepreneurial projects.

According to her, “Women getting access to money in the country is very difficult because women are deemed to just have subsistence level operations and micro operations, but when it comes to medium to large companies where bigger money is needed, there is no avenue to address such demands.”

She said that “so I think if there could be some kind of funding or conscious efforts from the government to target women entrepreneurs to grow their business, I think that will be in the right direction.”

The CEO emphasized, “You know because of the other challenges women face in accessing moneys from the formal sector, that is from the banks, I think it will be worthwhile having designated funds to promote businesses of women, because we have all seen that if you give women money they are able to manage it better than our male counterparts.”

Earlier, CEO of Vodafone Ghana Limited, Yolanda Cuba, admonished capitalists to make funds accessible to women entrepreneurs.

She disclosed that women entrepreneurs have for long time been denied access to funds, saying “investors should not be a bottleneck to the success of women.”

Executive Director of NBSSI, Kosi Yankey, in a statement, who highlighted the importance of the summit, noted that “it will help in fostering stronger partnerships between NBSSI and its stakeholders, thereby creating unique platform for women entrepreneurs that are change-makers and innovators, as well engage in powerful and thought-provoking conversations focused on addressing the challenges women face while doing business in Ghana.”

Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay, who delivered a keynote on behalf of Trade Minister, Alan Kwadwo Kyeremanten, assured the women that government shall create the enabling environment for them to operate effectively.

He urged them to adopt skills and best practices that will enable them to properly manage their businesses.

By Melvin Tarlue

 

 

 

Tags: