DBG is committed to investing in women-led businesses

DBG is committed to investing in women-led businesses – Deputy CEO

10th Aug 2023 | Source: Ghanaian Times

The Development Bank Ghana (DBG) in partnership with The African Network of Entrepreneurs (TANOE) has embarked on a capacity-building training targeted at women-owned and women-led businesses across the country.

The campaign aims to reach out to a set target of 5,000 women, equipping them with technical assistance and access to financial support to enhance the creditworthiness of their businesses, facilitate job creation and ensure long-term continuous growth and sustainability.

The campaign, dubbed ‘WomanRising 5000’, is a women’s economic impact project aimed at empowering women entrepreneurs with the necessary tools and resources to help them succeed in their respective businesses, expand their operations, increase their staff strength, and build systems and structures to ensure longevity of their businesses.

In line with achieving the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 5, DBG is poised to ensure the full and effective participation of women as well as create equal opportunities for leadership at all levels of decision-making and gender balance across all levels of management.

It is against this background that DBG aligned with TANOE to invest in women entrepreneurs and help them increase their capacities with regards to their businesses.

Commenting on this, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of DBG, Michael Mensah-Baah, said, “As a bank, we are interested and committed to the improvement of women-led and women-owned businesses. We acknowledge that we can achieve this by tackling the foundations, which is providing first the knowledge and education needed to bring about the desired transformation, and after that provide the means by which these entrepreneurs can access the finances to scale up their businesses.”

In Ghana, women-led businesses have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the economy, accounting for forty-four per cent (44%) of all micro, small, and medium enterprises in the country.

The contribution of women businesses in Ghana is further emphasised in the MasterCard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, which in 2020 ranked Ghana (36.5 per cent) among the world’s three leading economies with the most women-owned businesses, with Uganda (39.6 per cent) and Botswana (38.5 percent).