By Jibril Abdul Mumuni
Accra, March 11, GNA – Dr. Emelia Assiakwa, First Vice-President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), has called for the collateral-free loans at low interest rates for the proposed Women’s Bank.
She highlighted the significant financial hurdles faced by women entrepreneurs, including stringent collateral requirements and high interest rates, which impedes business growth.
The First Vice-President was speaking at an event to commemorate the International Women’s Day Celebration organized by GNCCI in collaboration with the GIZ Trade Hub aimed to explore funding opportunities for women entrepreneurs.
The event brought together financial institutions and women entrepreneurs to facilitate networking and access to funding.
Dr. Assiakwa emphasised the need for tailored financial solutions for women to enhance entrepreneurial initiatives.
She expressed optimism that the proposed Women’s Bank would offer more favourable terms, including lower interest rates, and explore alternative collateral options such as group guarantees.
The First Vice-President said this would enable women to access much-needed capital to expand their businesses and contribute to the national economy.
She acknowledged the support provided by initiatives like the Mastercard Foundation, which provides funding to financial institutions for onward lending to businesses.
However, she stressed the need for these institutions to streamline their processes and reduce conditionality to ensure wider accessibility.
“We are also urging that as we are here and we’ve created a platform for our people to have direct access to them, we would urge them to probably look at the conditionalities, the conditions that they are given, even concerning the MasterCard Foundation,” she said.
The Vice President also called on the government to consider tax incentives and waivers for women-owned businesses in the upcoming budget, further promoting their growth and sustainability.
Dr. Assiakwa said that the establishment of a Women’s Bank would be a significant step towards achieving financial inclusion and empowering women entrepreneurs across Ghana.
Miss Sophia Kamarudeen, Country Leader Component GIZ, emphasised GIZ’s commitment to promoting financial inclusion.
She acknowledged the hurdles women faced in accessing finance and stated that GIZ’s partnership with GNCCI aimed to bridge the gap between financial institutions and women-led businesses.
Miss Kamarudeen highlighted that the recent launch of GNCCI’s Women and Youth Wing aligned with GIZ’s focus on gender equality and youth empowerment, and that the collaboration sought to facilitate direct dialogue and create sustainable pathways for women entrepreneurs to secure funding.
GNA
CA