Dr. Daniel McKorley (2nd from right) flanked by opinion leaders from the Zongo community
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of McDan Foundation, Dr. Daniel McKorley has pledged to transform Zongo communities in the Ashanti Region by offering interest-free loans to women.
With such support, the women in the catchment area will be economically empowered to support their families and improve their well-being.
Dr. McKorley, popularly known as McDan, believes it is about time women, as well as the youth in the Zongo communities, divert their aggression towards developing their communities.
Per the latest unemployment data by the Ghana Statistical Service, about two out of ten women are unemployed.
The statistics from the third quarter of 2023 further indicate that about 8 out of 10 females are vulnerable.
Though governments over the years have channelled resources towards the development of Zongo communities, unemployment still remains a worry.
The CEO of McDan Foundation emphasised the need for women to receive support, to create employment.
He continued that the role of Zongo women cannot be discounted, hence the need to resource them to be independent and contribute significantly to their homes.
Dr. McKorley made this pledge during the launch of the 2025 ‘McDan Inter Tribes Football Tournament’ at Aboabo Middle B School Park recently, with a Champions Super Cup match between first two previous winners; the Hausas and Moshies.
The Moshies won the match 6:5 against the Hausas in a pulsating penalty shootout to be crowned as champions.
“We organised this tournament to bring unity among the communities. We want the Muslim youth to be more  responsible and more dedicated towards their own community, so that they will be seen as better young men and women for a better tomorrow,” he said.
According to Dr. McKorley, the decision to assist the Zongo women is part of McDan Foundation’s broader corporate social responsibility initiatives, which include supporting communities and vulnerable people.
The McDan Foundation, he added, has a history of supporting various initiatives, including building schools in deprived communities and investing in youth sports development.
Dr. McKorley, who has been sponsoring some needy but brilliant university students from the Zongo communities, pledged to pick students onto his scholarship scheme this year.
For his part, Mohammed Nurudeen Abubakar, the President for Zongo Forum, thanked Dr. McKorley and his Foundation for their gesture and their quest to be part of this year’s Inter Tribes Football Tournament in the Zongo communities of the Ashanti Region.
“The Kumasi Zongo is having over 40 tribes that are living in peace and harmony, so he decided to sponsor this laudable initiative of inter tribes football tournament. We are pleased to have him associating with our Zongo community,” Nurudeen Abubakar stressed.
He added, “Football brings unity, and this tournament brings on board over thousands of people to support their tribes, and that is the beauty of it. We have never had an incidence of violence despite having no security, meaning with the appropriate mechanism, our people can live in peace. Our aim is to unite us such that we see each other as one.”
Some key stakeholders at the event were Sheikh Zakaria A. Rahman (Deputy Ashanti Regional Chief Imam), Alhaji Musah Akambonga (President of the Council of Zongo Chiefs), Alhaji Ibrahim Sanford III (Acting Sarkin Zongo, Ashanti), Sheikh Abbas Karara (Deputy Regional Imam, Ashanti) and many other stakeholders from the Zongo communities.
FROM David Afum, Kumasi