Accra, Ghana//-MTN Ghana today built the capacity of members of the Ghana Hairdressers and Beauticians Association, and Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association in digital technologies and financial literacy as part of activities to mark this year’s International Women’s Day.
The staff of the leading telecoms company taught the women various ways of investment, savings, insurance, and pension among others.
The move is to position them to grow their businesses to enable them to take good care of their families in this critical time.
The event which took place at the Rawlings Park in the Central Business District of Accra had a health session where the women’s groups were educated on hypertension.
It also included a spin-a-win game where participants who answered questions asked by the MTN team correctly won some souvenirs and massages.
The capacity build event, according to senior officials of MTN Ghana took place simultaneously in Eastern, Ashanti, Northern and Western regions.
They pledged to sustain it with similar periodic engagements, while plans are at foot to extend it to market women.
Senior Manager of Data Devices and Homes at MTN Ghana, Ms Gloria Frimpong who spoke on the need to embrace digital technologies, encouraged the women to use different means to learn, upgrade themselves, and grow their businesses to not rely on their partners for financial support.
She stated: “Gone were the days that you had to go to the bank before you made the transaction, but today with Mobile Money (MoMo), you can do that with ease. Apart from making and receiving calls, you can use your phones to grow your business”.
According to her, platforms like the myMTN app, and Ayoba are available to enable them to learn while Whatsapp, TikTok, Instagram and others are there for them to display their business offerings and connect with customers and potential buyers.
Ms Frimpong also advised the women to be vigilant about their mobile phones and not reveal their security codes or PINs to unknown people in this era of growing cyber fraud.
Speaking to journalists at the event, the Acting Chief Human Resource Officer of MTN Ghana, Abdallah Ibrahim, added that digital technologies and financial literacy training enable women to take advantage of the opportunities in the digital world and digital and mobile financial solutions being offered by the company.
“You learned your trade a couple of years ago, but in today’s world new methods of doing things have come up, and there is a lot that you can learn from various platforms. So, this is to let them know and utilise them”.
Mr Ibrahim assured that after the two-day events, MTN Ghana would continue to engage women across the country through other programmes such as SME month, internet festival, and MoMo season, among others.
A senior official of the Mobile Money Products and Service Division of MTN Ghana, Irene Awuku-Asabere reiterated the importance of women in the socio-economic development of Ghana.
To this end, she said women should be continually empowered and opened to digital technologies and digital financial services that would help them contribute more to the country’s development.
She said: “In this current dispensation and the trade they are involved in, it is good for us to let them understand what financial literacy is, especially as this year’s celebration seeks to ensure investment in women to accelerate progress”.
International Women’s Day is celebrated every year globally on March 8th to celebrate the economic, political, and social achievements of women past, present, and future.
