Financial Institutions must increase their funding to women-owned Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to build an inclusive economy, the Second Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG), Mrs Elsie Addo Awadzi, has said.
That, she said, would help facilitate the country's economic recovery.
Speaking at the 2022 Sales Champion Challenge awards organised by CapitalPlus Exchange (CapPlus), she said supporting women businesses would help in promoting job creation and security.
The award is under the Financial Institution Resilience and Strengthening (FIRST+) Programme.
It is aimed at strengthening financial institutions to enable them to increase lending to MSMEs and create work opportunities for 60,000 Ghanaians, predominantly young women and men.
Mrs Awadzi pledged that the BoG would continue to provide leadership and strategic guidance to the FIRST+ Programme, particularly on issues of governance and implementation.
In all, staff of six financial institutions were adjudged winners of the 2022 Sales Champion Challenge awards.
They were Mr Obed Asiamah of Ahantaman Rural Bank, who placed first, while Mr Ernest Gyau of Sefwiman Rural Bank and Mr Emmanuel A. Kissi Yeboah of Best Point Savings and Loans took the second and third positions respectively
The rest included Mr Joseph Kwasi Nyamekye of Akuapem Rural Bank; Mr Thomas Kwame Piedu of Fiaseman Rural Bank and Mr Samuel Nyarko of Mumuadu Rural Bank.
The CapPlus Programme Lead for the FIRST+ programme, Mr Binyam Tadesse, said CapPlus and GHAMFIN had delivered training and webinars on a variety of topics to over 600 financial institutions and 1,400 people through the FIRST+ Programme to enable them to help small businesses in their communities grow and thrive.
Mr Tadesse said FIRST+ and CapPlus addressed the underlying challenges that inhibited financial institutions from lending to MSMEs by partnering with them to change mindsets, implement proven methodologies and practices, and tailored- services for women and other underserved segments.
The Country Director of the MasterCard Foundation Ghana, Rosy Fynn, said extending financial support to MSMEs will help create jobs for women and the youth.
