The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has announced plans to create women entrepreneurs and millionaires through the strategic establishment of a Women Development Bank.
This comes as a welcome news to womenfolks in the operating Small and Medium Scales businesses and agribusinesses.
Over the years many efforts have been made by government, private actors and NGOs to provide and streamline financial support to women led businesses in helping boost financial status and empowerment of women and also to reduce poverty levels.
The announcement by NDC’s Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, running mate to John Dramani Mahama has received wide applause.
“We will actively pursue the establishment of a Women Development Bank to nurture and grow women-owned, women-led businesses”, She stated.
“Women must become millionaires too, through hard work, as the men do. Women do not need handouts. We need a hand up. Women of Ghana are capable of managing the bank 100%,” She said during her acceptance speech as running mate in Accra last week.
The proposed bank by John Mahama and the NDC is expected to provide small-scale businesswomen, such as those hawking or running small businesses, access to capital to boost their enterprises.
It is planned that, a board for the bank would be inclusive of trading associations and cooperatives to represent and make decisions on behalf of its members.
Referencing notable women entrepreneurs like Esther Ocloo, Prof. Jane Opoku-Agyemang called for the revival of the dream and actions of hero and heroine entrepreneurs as models while emphasizing the importance of supporting private sector participants and warned against hindering successful entrepreneurs’ efforts.
In addition, she outlined plans for modernizing markets, which are central to many women’s economic activities. “Market women deserve the benefits of a clean, modernized marketplace. It must not end with the beautiful Kejetia or attractive Kotokoraba and allied markets,” she stated.
The editorial team of Economy Times welcomes the plan for the establishment of such bank that will help close the gender disparity and empowerment gap in the country.
