The Ministry of Business Development and its implementing agency, the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), in collaboration with the Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) have funded sixty-nine women entrepreneurs with an amount of GH¢533,000.
The support granted these women is under the “Young Women Entrepreneurship Initiative” established to boost their business activities.
The beneficiaries were categorised into five sectors which are; information and communications technology (ICT), fashion and beauty, agribusiness, service and trade and commerce. Prior to the event which was held in Accra on Wednesday, 19th August, 2020, the young women were trained on how to manage their businesses and received certificates for participating in the training.
Allocations
Those in the trade and commerce sector received the highest amount of GH¢276,000, followed by those in agribusiness, who had GH¢77,000, while the beneficiaries in fashion and beauty and service received GH¢70,000 and GH¢65,000, respectively, with those in ICT receiving GH¢45,000.
It was noted that similar support will be extended to young women entrepreneurs in the northern sector of the country at separate events to be held in Tamale and Kumasi.
Aims of initiative
The Young Women Entrepreneurship Initiative is a project aimed at helping to build the capacities of young women entrepreneurs and transform them from necessity-entrepreneurs to opportunity-driven entrepreneurs. Where capacity building entails training, monitoring, coaching and funding.
The initiative seeks to help the beneficiaries expand their businesses to enable them to move from obscurity into the limelight in the form of loans.
Promoting women entrepreneurs
The Founder of the SEHP, Hajia Samira Bawumia, who doubles as the second-lady of Ghana expressed her excitement while addressing the beneficiaries.
According to her, the initiative is a human capacity development drive that sought to promote the economic empowerment of women in the country.
“It is aimed at supporting start-ups and businesses owned by female entrepreneurs to ensure the advancement and development of the entrepreneurial capacity of women in our dear nation.”
She went on to praise the Ministry of Business Development for supporting the goal of creating a sustainable entrepreneurial and innovative business environment that boosted private sector investment and job creation.
Commitment
Mrs Bawumia emphasised that she is committed to ensuring that women became active players in the economic space of the country. She further indicated that it is for that reason that SEHP seeks to drive entrepreneurial development among women.
Quoting the 2018 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurship, she said Ghana had the highest percentage of women business owners worldwide, “but not withstanding this positive participation in Ghana’s business ecosystem, the majority of these women entrepreneurs are stuck at the very lower levels”.
She, therefore, called for a deliberate focus on the contribution of women that provided a springboard for the acceleration of their economic development and inclusive growth.
Better business owners
The Minister of Business Development, Dr Mohammed Ibrahim Awal, in his address noted that in the last few years, more businesses had been owned by women and went on to express concern that those businesses were limited to the individuals and their immediate families.
He then emphasised the need for a policy to help women expand their businesses and compete.
According to Dr Awal, it is almost impossible for Ghana succeed without its women entrepreneurs, saying that it was for this reason that within the next four months, the ministry together with NEIP, with support from the SEHP, would deliver GH¢3 million in support to scale up the skills of young women entrepreneurs.
The Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Mrs Cynthia Morrison, was also present at the event. She commended the beneficiaries for choosing to be self-employed and admonished them to try to repay the loans given them to enable others to benefit from the initiative as well.
A representative of the beneficiaries, Ms Mardiya Suleman Cheiba of the Zongo Viation Hub, expressed appreciation to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for believing in the youth and to the ministry for the support extended to them and gave an assurance that they would not let the ministry down.
