Professor Elizabeth Obinnim of the Fashion Design and Textiles Department at Ho Technical University has called on policymakers to develop policies that create favourable conditions for women-led Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to thrive.
She appealed to financial institutions to increase support for women-led businesses to promote economic growth, noting that such enterprises serve as catalysts for innovative solutions in sectors including agro-processing, agriculture and textiles.
Prof. Obinnim made the call during a programme organised by the Ghana Circular Economy Centre at Ho Technical University in the Volta Region to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day.
She said women-led MSMEs played a key role in promoting the socio-economic development of the country and were increasingly becoming hubs for creativity and community resilience.
According to her, strengthening policy frameworks and improving access to financial resources would help women entrepreneurs expand their businesses and contribute more effectively to national development.
The professor also urged government to expedite the establishment of the proposed Women’s Development Bank to facilitate women’s access to capital for starting and expanding their enterprises.
She encouraged women entrepreneurs to form cooperatives to make it easier to access funding and other forms of support for their businesses, describing access to finance as one of the major challenges facing women-led enterprises.
Prof. Obinnim explained that cooperative structures could improve women’s bargaining power with financial institutions and help them mobilise resources to scale up their businesses.
Dr Marindame Kombate, Executive Director of the Ghana Circular Economy Centre, said meaningful transformation in society could not occur without the full and active participation of women.
He stressed the need to design fair, productive and sustainable systems that enable women-owned enterprises to flourish and contribute to inclusive economic growth.
Dr Kombate explained that while the circular economy was often described in technical terms such as resource efficiency, waste reduction and value retention, its core focus was on people and inclusion.
He said the centre had provided foundational circular economy training for women to help them better understand the concept and increase their opportunities along various value chains.
According to him, the training programmes were designed to equip women entrepreneurs with practical knowledge to transform waste into valuable products and adopt more sustainable production practices.
Dr Kombate noted that the Ghana Circular Economy Centre was established to support innovation, enterprise development and capacity building across key sectors, including plastics, agriculture, agro-processing and textiles.
The initiative is funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization in collaboration with the Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology.
Ho Technical University serves as the headquarters of the centre, with satellite campuses in other institutions such as the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology and the University of Cape Coast.
