Accra, Ghana//-Ghana’s Vice President, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, today hinted that the government is strengthening partnerships with development finance institutions to expand lending to Small-scale and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), with targeted provisions for women-owned businesses in the country.
She made this known in a speech read for her by the Minister of Trade and Agribusiness and Industry, Mrs Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, at this year’s Women Investment Summit organised by Oxford Africa Women Leadership Institute (OAWLI).
Prof Opoku-Agyemang added: “The Government is enhancing the operating environment through more targeted and coordinated efforts.
This includes expanding access to opportunities for women-led enterprises and scaling support delivered through institutions such as the Ghana Enterprises Agency and the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme.
Also, continued investments in digital and financial inclusion are widening access to financial services for women entrepreneurs.
The focus is not only on participation but also on achieving results: helping women-owned businesses to grow, formalise, and thrive in larger, more competitive markets, according to her.
“We are also nearing the launch of the Women’s Development Bank. This initiative is led by my office under the directive of President John Dramani Mahama.
Backed by more than 400 million Ghana Cedis in the national Budget, it is structured to provide concessional, collateral-free loans, financial literacy, business development services, credit guarantees, and rural economic outreach through partnerships with community-based financial services for women entrepreneurs at the base of the pyramid”.
These efforts, the Vice President noted tackle the credit gap, reduce lending risks, attract private capital, and help women grow from micro to macro-ready enterprises, all of which fuel the 24- Hour Economy.
Taken together, they reflect a more integrated approach to enterprise development that is connecting finance, skills, and market access to support sustained growth.
Furthermore, the government has also maintained engagement with women leaders across sectors. At the policy level, the government is working to increase female representation in public leadership, with a clear trajectory toward parity over time.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang, however, stated that policy alone would not deliver the scale of change required and urged investors, private sector leaders, development partners, and financial institutions to pay greater attention to women-led businesses.
The case for investing in women is already established. The question now is whether we will act on it consistently, deliberately, and at scale.
This means: • unlocking patient and scalable capital for women-led businesses; • integrating women into supply chains and public-private partnerships; • expanding access to export markets and cross-border trade; • and strengthening institutional frameworks that support inclusive economic participation.
“It also means ensuring that our financial, regulatory, and institutional systems are not only present but also accessible in practice. All this is so that we move from inclusion to investment, participation to ownership, and potential to scale”.
Prof Opoku-Agyemang emphasised that Ghana and Africa need women not only as participants in the economy but also as industrialists, exporters, and innovators, particularly in emerging sectors such as the green and digital economies.
In a presentation, the CEO of African Corporate Governance Network (ACGN), Rev Mrs Angela Carmen Appiah, said embedding women in core business strategy should not be seen as an act of goodwill. It is rather a strategy for growth through stronger supply chains, broader markets, and more resilient enterprises, among others.
The CEO of Clatural Fashion Company, Clara Pinkrah-Sam, who shared her global experiences with the women-led businesses at the Summit, said going global as a business required three key strategies.
These three key steps, she mentioned, are mindset, building, and the expansion strategies, which were explained by the seasoned entrepreneur.
Why the Summit
The Executive Director of Oxford Africa Women Leadership Institute (OAWLI), Madam Odelia Ntiamoah, explained that the event was put together. They observed that each year, women-led businesses have not been able to meet a lot of the criteria required when it comes to financing.
“Therefore, we as an organisation have set up to serve as a bridge between women and their financing opportunities. So, we organise the summit every year to be able to bring closer to the opportunities every year, either from the trade ministry to investors, and others”, she said.
This year, we are saying that women-led businesses should be supported not just verbally, but we should be able to give them the needed support beyond promising that they are investments slated for women.
Women need avenues to be able to reach the criteria that are required for them to be able to access finance, which we call the catalytic finance. We are asking the government to set aside a sum of money that will help these women to be able to reach the level which is required, she added.
For instance, if they have to go to venture capital, how many women-led businesses will be able to meet the requirements of a venture capitalist, Madam Ntiamoah asked.
How many of them will be able to meet external investors, and how do we prepare them to be able to meet these requirements?
So, these are some of the platforms the OAWLI creates on a year-by-year basis to be able to access some of these opportunities.
