By Solomon Gumah
Tamale, Sept. 11, GNA – The 2026 World Shea Expo will focus on accelerating women and youth-led value addition to transform shea from a local commodity into a globally competitive brand.
The Expo, scheduled for September 15 to 17 in Tamale, will be held under the theme: “From Local Commodity to Global Brand: Accelerating Women and Youth-Led Value Addition in Shea.”
Professor Abukari Alhassan, Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for World Shea Expo 2026, announced this at a press conference in Tamale.
The press conference was attended by representatives of government institutions, civil society organisations, industry, academia, the media, and other stakeholders.
This year’s Expo is expected to be attended by Vice President Professor Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, Dr Peter Boamah Otokunor, Director of Presidential Initiatives in Agriculture and Agribusiness, among other dignitaries.
Spearheaded by Savannah Golden Tree, the Expo will bring together representatives of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Ghana Shea Employers Association, Tree Crop Development Authority, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Northern Development Authority (NDA), Northern Regional Coordinating Council and Savannah Women Integrated Development Agency (SWIDA-Ghana), among others.
Professor Alhassan said the Expo formed part of a national effort to create greater value from shea resources within producing communities rather than concentrating mainly on the export of raw materials.
He said although shea provided income, employment and livelihood support for millions of people, particularly rural women, significant activities such as product development, packaging, branding, certification and access to premium markets were still largely undertaken away from producing communities.
He said women, who had traditionally played key roles in shea collection, processing and trading, needed greater access to modern processing technologies, finance, quality assurance, certification, digital marketing and international markets to enable them to become entrepreneurs, manufacturers, exporters and brand owners.
He said young people should also be encouraged to view the shea industry as a modern, technology-driven sector, with opportunities in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, digital marketing, traceability and environmentally sustainable businesses.
Professor Alhassan said the University for Development Studies, in collaboration with King’s College London and the Global Shea Alliance, had developed a shea landscape biodiversity credit accreditation, monitoring and management platform with support from Innovate UK.
He said the initiative was designed to link environmental conservation with economic opportunities by improving the measurement and management of biodiversity and ecosystem benefits associated with shea landscapes, while enabling smallholder farmers to participate in emerging carbon and biodiversity markets.
He called for stronger local capacity to produce finished shea products, develop innovative technologies and establish Ghanaian brands capable of competing on international markets.
Mr Eric Banye, Project Manager of the World Shea Expo, said the 2025 edition attracted more than 8,000 participants from 16 countries, 136 exhibitors and 716 shea products, while women and youth accounted for 82 per cent and 64 per cent of participants, respectively.
He said the previous Expo also recorded participation from 37 government agencies, 18 financial institutions, 94 diplomatic missions and development partners, eight academic and research institutions, 21 media houses and 512 small and medium-sized enterprises, generating more than 10,000 business-to-business linkages.
He said the government had also supported women in the five shea-producing regions with personal protective equipment, including Wellington boots and hand gloves, to improve their safety in shea-related activities.
Hajia Alima Sagito Saeed, Executive Director of SWIDA-Ghana, said the Expo, since its launch, had provided rural women with opportunities for networking, exposure, knowledge sharing and economic empowerment.
She said SWIDA-Ghana would continue to advocate for access to resources and land ownership for women, stressing that women must be empowered to become producers, decision-makers and leaders in the shea industry.
Edited by Albert Futukpor /Audrey Dekalu
Caption: Participants during the launch
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