Madam Bright said the initiative reflected the assembly’s commitment to placing women at the centre of economic growth, enterprise development and sustainable livelihoods in Tema.
The WISE Project is an initiative of the Office of the Tema MCE, implemented with technical support from Menthane Consult, co-funded by the Simple Foundation, and coordinated with support from the Business Advisory Centre (BAC) of the Ghana Enterprise Agency at Tema.

She explained that the collaboration was built on the shared understanding that strengthening women-owned businesses was critical to building a vibrant, resilient and sustainable urban economy.
Twenty women entrepreneurs benefited from hands-on training in financial literacy, financial management and business management in the first cohort.
The training focused on practical business skills, including record keeping, budgeting, cash flow management, pricing, and basic business planning to enable participants to strengthen their operations and make informed financial decisions.

The beneficiaries were awarded certificates to mark their successful completion of the training and their readiness to scale up their businesses.
Madam Bright noted that beyond skills development, the programme also provided direct financial support to enable immediate impact.

Each beneficiary received a grant of GH¢2,000, injecting a total of GH¢40,000 into women-owned businesses across the metropolis.
She said the financial support was already making a difference, as beneficiaries were using the funds to restock supplies, improve operations, acquire essential equipment and expand their customer base.

The MCE described the first cohort as a clear demonstration that women’s economic empowerment yielded tangible development outcomes when knowledge was matched with timely financial support.
She said the beneficiaries now served as examples of how targeted investment in women could drive inclusive growth at the local level.

Building on the success of the first phase, the MCE announced that additional cohorts of the WISE Project were planned for 2026 to extend the opportunity to more women entrepreneurs across Tema.
She said the Assembly, together with its development partners, remained committed to creating an enabling environment where women were not marginalised but positioned as active drivers of local economic development.

She said the WISE Project underscored the assembly’s broader vision of building a more inclusive, sustainable and economically resilient city through deliberate support for women-led enterprises.