Ho node Hub, Reach for Change train Women led businesses on accessing their Economic Rights

A 2020 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs report ranked Ghana as one of 3 countries with most women entrepreneurs and business owners.

While nearly seventy (70) percent of players in Ghana’s SME sector were women and the biggest employers of other women, they are however disproportionately at risk of a myriad of negative business-related impacts.

Challenges including a lack of awareness or knowledge on how to access capital or incentives for their sector has had rippling effects on the sustainability of their businesses.

Women entrepreneurs have therefore been encouraged to move away from being mere participants in Ghana’s commercial arena to being economically empowered in order to sustain their businesses.

The women were spurred during an advocacy session on accessing their economic rights in Ho.

The session organized by Digital and Business Innovation Company, Ho Node Hub in collaboration with Reach for Change, engaged a community of women led businesses and young people as part of the training.

Organised with support from Social Enterprise Ghana, the session brought together several SMEs in the fashion, health, business and food sectors to sensitise participants on the importance of duty bearers and their benefits to SMEs and Startups.

The program saw participants exploring the challenges and current opportunities in accessing Government’s business services.

Challenges such as information asymmetry and perceptions also emerged as a threat to the sustainability of these businesses.

A participant, Chief Executive Officer of Syldem Company Limited, Ms. Sylvia Demanya, shared her experience and said officers along the various business value chain have been forthwith in providing critical information which helped sustain her business.

She however lamented that most other businesses were reeling under information asymmetry and perceptions with some of these officers unwilling to help provide relevant information to SMEs.

Madam Demanya who had been a beneficiary of Ho Node Hub’s several business acceleration-related initiatives, encouraged SMEs to approach the hub to ensure their business sustainability.

She said the Hub had played a significant role in ensuring her assertiveness in accessing relevant information for her business.

Managing Director of Ho Node Hub, Mr. Courage Asase, said it behoved on a multi-stakeholder approach in an effort to demystify the perceptions.

Mr. Asase said for businesses to benefit from opportunity- laden agencies in Ghana, there was the need for them to prove their investor-readiness.

He said bookkeeping, financial and business plans were but a few characteristics of an investor-ready business.

Country Director for Reach for Change, Mr. Solomon Twum, on his part said the engagement which formed the first of a 3-part series was essential in ridding the SME sector off the disconnect that existed between them and duty bearers.

Plans are advancing to bring SMEs and State Agencies along the business value chain closer for a knowledge sharing session in the first quarter of 2022.