Dr Okoe Boye
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Ledzokuku Constituency, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye, in partnership with the Office of the First Lady, Mrs Rebecca Akufo-Addo, has launched an interest-free loan scheme for women in the constituency.
The loan is expected to help the women to undertake new businesses or reinvest in their existing businesses, among others.
The loan scheme forms part of an initiative by the Office of the First Lady to partner MPs to give interest-free loans to women to expand and establish their businesses through very flexible loan terms.
Under the loan scheme, 40 women would be given a GH¢1,000 interest-free loan every year.
Apart from the loan, some 20 other women would also be enrolled in different skills training ventures such as hairdressing and dressmaking.
They would also be given free sewing machines and hairdryers to help them effectively complete the training programme.
Speaking at the launch of the 40:20 free loan scheme and skills training programme at Teshie over the weekend, Dr Okoe Boye indicated that the move is to address the unemployment situation in the area.
According to him, many women are unable to engage in meaningful businesses because they are unable to pay the heavy interests on loans, most often than not resulting in legal cases.
He said his office and that of the First Lady have paid the interests on the loans given to the women and all they have to worry about is how to pay the exact money they were each given.
He added that each beneficiary of the loan has between six and 18 months to pay back the loan.
Dr Okoe Boye however urged the women to pay the loans on time to enable others to also benefit.
He expressed the hope that the number of recipients would increase in a short period, depending on how quickly the first beneficiaries pay the loans back.
BY Gibril Abdul Razak