Advans Ghana, a leading financial institution committed to gender equality and with over 60% of its clientele being women, has unveiled its maiden Gender Programme, AdvansHer. Designed to champion women’s financial empowerment and create an inclusive environment, AdvansHer aims to address the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs in Ghana.

According to studies, approximately 44% of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana are female-owned, yet they often face barriers in accessing adequate finance to scale-up. The programme, which aligns with the country’s broader efforts to promote gender equity, seeks to provide women with the necessary skills, tools and resources to thrive in their businesses.

AdvansHer strives at tackling the unique challenges faced by women and marginalized genders, ensuring they are not only participants but leaders in their financial journeys. Thus, the programme focuses on three key pillars:

1. Empowerment through Education: This offers financial literacy workshops, training sessions, and resources tailored to the specific needs of women entrepreneurs.
2. Access to Tailored Financial Products: Advans provides customized financial products and services, including credit options with very flexible collateral requirements giving possibilities for women entrepreneurs to easily scale-up, the Edusave product which is a savings plan to cater for children’s education and investment opportunities.
3. Support for Women Entrepreneurs and staff: Through mentorship, coaching, networking programmes and initiatives, Advans Ghana fosters a supportive ecosystem and community to offer valuable opportunities and learning experience for women.

Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director of Advans Ghana, Guillaume Valence, emphasized the importance of these pillars in catalyzing women’s economic advancement. “By equipping women with the knowledge, skills, and financial resources they need, we can create a more equitable society where everyone has the opportunity to succeed,” he said.

A panel discussion on ” Lifting Barries to female entrepreneur growth” featured seasoned experts who highlighted several key challenges women face in their entrepreneurial journeys, offered insights and proposed solutions to address them. Some of the main points discussed included barriers to accessing finance for women, strategies to help women secure higher credit facilities among others.

Mrs Rosina Buah, speaking on behalf of the second Deputy Governor of the bank of Ghana, delivered the keynote speech on Female entrepreneurship and the commitment of Bank of Ghana in unlocking the full potential of female entrepreneurship towards driving sustainable economic growth and development in Ghana.

The AdvansHer programme is a significant step towards empowering women and promoting gender equality in Ghana. By addressing the specific challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, Advans is contributing to the country’s economic growth and development.

Advans Ghana Savings and Loans Ltd. is a subsidiary of the Advans Group, headquartered in Paris-France with a presence in 9 countries in Africa and Asia and serving more than 1.3 million clients. In Ghana, Advans serves over 130,000 clients.

It currently operates with 19 branches in 8 regions – Greater Accra, Ashanti, Brong, Ahafo, Volta, Northern, Central and Eastern – with its target markets mainly being micro, small and medium-scale enterprises, not losing sight of individual clients.
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