By Ernest Bako WUBONTO
With women-led businesses standing tall in terms of loan payback and the ability to sustain growth steadily, experts posit that it is time to inspire more women into entrepreneurship.
Leading the initiative to inspire women is Dr. Daniel McKorley, Chairman of McDan Group. He explained that with women comprising over half – 50.7 percent – of the population, their proven excellence in sustainable business management and a remarkable 96 percent loan payback rate position them as the prime candidates to drive entrepreneurship.
Dr. McKorley, who spoke in Accra at the maiden Women in Business (WIB) dialogue series organised by the B&FT, demanded that more should be done to empower and inspire more women to engage in entrepreneurial endeavours.
“Let’s inspire more women into entrepreneurship because experience has shown over the years that women are more committed to business operations than men. Women businesses are the mainstay of the informal economy and this is because they have the right attitude and mindset toward business,” he said.
Dr. McKorley reiterated that the economy cannot achieve meaningful growth without the rightful contributions of women, who constitute the majority and consistently bring dynamic solutions to the table.
Supporting the growth of women, he added, is synonymous with investing in society for sustainability as women’s business profits are often reinvested to expand their ventures, support household needs and invest in their families.
How to inspire women?
To appropriately inspire women into entrepreneurship and ensure they attain success, Dr. McKorley outlined the following: improvement in financial literacy knowledge among women for them to make informed decisions.
Another approach is to motivate women to make bold decisions and take calculated risks; thus, moving out of their comfort zone to take up roles in fields dominated by men.
Furthermore, he called for mentorship programmes – both formal and informal – to support women. Lastly, he stressed the importance of helping women build confidence and belief in themselves.
Role of GEA in encouraging entrepreneurship among women
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, on her part, reiterated the need to empower more women into entrepreneurship and financial independence.
She concurred that for any meaningful economic transformation to occur at a national level, it is imperative to empower women to own and lead business endeavours, particularly ventures that extend beyond traditionally reserved gender roles.
The CEO, however, highlighted several challenges that hinder women entrepreneurs, including limited access to finance, insufficient regulatory support services, difficulty in keeping pace with technological advancements and accessing e-commerce platforms.
“Over the past seven years, we have developed various programmes that ink female entrepreneurs to various financial opportunities through targeted loans programmes such as the CAP Business Support Scheme (CAPBusSS), which provided financial support in the form of loans and grants to over 300,000 businesses,” she said.
Despite these efforts, she noted that market access remains a major stumbling block for most women-owned businesses.
Explaining further, she said: “We must provide women entrepreneurs with training to access financial support and break into markets – both domestically and abroad”.
Held under the theme ‘investing in women-owned businesses for Ghana’s transformation agenda: a call for action’, the WIB was led by notable female executives from various sectors, alongside accomplished corporate and business leaders.
The inaugural WIB served as a platform to offer insights into harnessing the potential of women-led businesses.
