The conference formed part of the financial inclusion project by Sinapi Aba and its partners, to help more women and their male counterparts access financial services to sustain and expand their businesses.

Even though the focus of the project is mainly on women, men who apply for the facility are also assisted under the project to help them grow and sustain their businesses.

Speaking at the capacity building and training conference held in Tamale last Thursday, Chief Programmes Officer of Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans, Mrs Joyce Owusu Dabo, said the entrepreneurial development project was targeted at small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Constraint

She stated that the project sought to help more women access financial services to sustain and expand their businesses, adding that, the four-year project sought to reach out to 16,000 women small and medium-scale entrepreneurs nationwide, who would be provided with loans capacity building training.

She urged the beneficiaries to be active and participate in such training programmes to help them acquire the needed skills to efficiently expand their businesses.

The Vice President of Opportunity International, Canada, Madam Jannalee Anderson, for her part, said the project would help SMEs who had limited financial options and were unable to access loans from banks and other financial institutions.

She said majority of profits gained by women in their businesses were mainly recycled into their homes and families by investing in food for children, school fees, community investments and other commitments, hence the implementation of the project to enhance women’s involvement in both domestic and community projects.

Beneficiary

A beneficiary of the project, Damata Karim, called on women in businesses to diversify their businesses, keep a customer-friendly attitude and also form partnerships, to help make their businesses grow.

She urged all SMEs to register their businesses with the right institutions to acquire the necessary legal documents to enable them to secure financial support, and also appealed to the government to intervene in their operations by reducing their taxes to help their businesses survive