The United States Ambassador to Ghana, Ms. Virginia Palmer, has reaffirmed her commitment to supporting the development of women entrepreneurs in the country, pledging continued efforts to improve access to credit, a significant challenge for many women-led businesses.
Ms. Palmer emphasized the importance of creating a conducive business environment for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), noting that an improved environment benefits both Ghanaian and international investors, traders, and entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the graduation and exhibition ceremony of the Academy for Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) in Accra, she urged the Ghanaian government to implement measures that would support businesses, including the timely payment of bills and efforts to reduce the cost of credit.
The Ambassador encouraged local entrepreneurs to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) which allows duty free access to the US market for Ghanaian products.
Ms Palmer explained that women who graduated from the AWE programme were eligible to apply for the United States Africa Development Fund (ADF), which included both cash grants and capacity building.
“One of the United States top priorities in Ghana is helping to foster economic growth and job creation. That is what you are doing… And we know that if you succeed, Ghana succeeds… And if Ghana succeeds, the whole region and indeed the world is better off.”
“This training is an important element because we want to support and develop women entrepreneurs as engine for economic growth and job creation,” she stated.
She thanked facilitators and alumni, and expressed confidence in the graduates and urged them to maintain strong networks for business growth.
Dr Shola Safo-Duodu, Country Lead, AWE Ghana, highlighted impact of the programme over the years, and encouraged trainees to enhance their businesses with the knowledge acquired.
Some of the courses, she said, included, social media marketing, finance and accounting, customer management, taxation, strategic planning, and confidence building.
“The courses are structured such that it answers a specific section of a business plan so that, by the end of the programme, trainees are able to write a business plan that they have generate themselves and we encourage them to practice what they have learnt,” she noted.
“This year, we focused on women who have had a business for at least two years so we can prepare them for pitching and the investor community
AWE provides enterprising women the knowledge, networks and access they need to launch and scale successful business. This years’ edition focused on recruiting and training Ghanaian women entrepreneurs with existing businesses.
