Women entrepreneurs are the backbone of Ghana’s economic growth, yet systemic barriers like limited access to credit, land, markets, and skills have long held them back. WEDO (Women’s Entrepreneurship Day Organization) is changing that narrative, and in Ghana that change took root when the National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) Women’s Commission answered the global call of Women’s Entrepreneurship Day, launched at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on November 19, 2014.
At the heart of Ghana’s response is a commitment to move from celebration to action. Rather than marking the day with words alone, the NUGS Women’s Commission commenced preparations for a Women’s Leadership Centre, launching in February 2015, to train women in leadership and governance. The Centre’s core modules focus on the management of small and medium enterprises and resource mobilization, equipping women with the practical tools to build and sustain profitable businesses, especially young women still in school.
The need is both urgent and measurable. According to the International Labour Organization, 812 million women in developing countries have the potential to contribute more fully to their economies. Yet the World Economic Forum reports that no nation has achieved gender equality, and depending on where they live, women have access to only 58 to 70 percent of the economic, educational, health, and political resources available to men.
Ghana’s own numbers reveal both the challenge and the opportunity. The Ghana Statistical Survey reported that 85 percent of women participate in the private labour force, compared to 75 percent of their male counterparts, and roughly 70 percent of micro, small, and medium enterprises are owned and operated by women. Women are already driving the country’s entrepreneurial engine. What they need is greater access to credit, land, information, and the resources to grow and scale.
The NUGS Women’s Commission acknowledges that while progress has been made on the economic front, far more intervention is needed to accelerate women’s growth and development, and the Women’s Leadership Centre is designed to do exactly that. The Women’s Leadership Centre trains women in SME management and resource mobilization so they can move from operating informal ventures to running formal, financed, growth-ready businesses, capturing markets and creating jobs rather than remaining locked out of credit and land.
Thank you to the National Union of Ghana Students for supporting women’s entrepreneurship throughout the country. WEDO is proud to stand alongside a team that understands investing in women is investing in a stronger, more prosperous future for all.
Learn more about this initiative:
https://www.modernghana.com/news/581739/womens-entrepreneurship-day.html
WEDO – Women Entrepreneurs Do Make A Difference – #JoinWEDO – www.joinwedo.org