MTN Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to inclusion by supporting a two-day business management training for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in the Tamale Metropolis.
The initiative, delivered in partnership with Innohub and co-funded by Fidelity Bank, sought to equip PWDs with the skills and resources needed to strengthen their businesses and unlock new opportunities.
Adwoa Ackonor, Manager in charge of Enterprise Business at MTN Ghana, said the programme aligns with the company’s Ambition 2025 strategy, which prioritises digital inclusion and SME empowerment.
“MTN Ghana is committed to creating a more inclusive digital and business ecosystem. Supporting the training of Persons with Disabilities aligns with our Ambition 2025 strategy, which emphasizes enabling communities, driving digital inclusion, and empowering SMEs. By providing entrepreneurial and digital skills training, we are helping PWDs unlock opportunities to grow their businesses, improve their livelihoods, and participate fully in the economy,” she explained.
Ackonor added that the intervention will go beyond training. “We are exploring ways to provide post-program support such as continuous mentorship and capacity building, as well as opportunities to connect with financial institutions, development partners, and MTN’s ecosystem for funding and market access,” she said.
The two-day workshop trained participants in areas including customer service, business management, financial literacy, digital skills, and access to finance. It forms part of a five-year MTN-Innohub partnership that supports 100 entrepreneurs annually, including 50 PWDs.
King David Amo, Corporate Communications and Marketing Lead at Innohub, highlighted the motivation behind the programme. “This programme is an initiative that focuses on unlocking the entrepreneurial talent that lies within PWDs, specifically here in the Northern Region. We know that PWDs represent a large pool of entrepreneurial activity and economic value, which has been left latent for some time,” he said.
According to him, many PWDs already operate businesses but struggle to access funding and scale their initiatives. “We are asking ourselves, how can we help them to put their businesses in the right space to take advantage of funding opportunities that Fidelity and MTN are offering and also make them ready for scale? This is the focus of the two-day programme that we have been organising so far,” Amo added.
He noted that this initiative is a test case in the Northern Region, with the potential to be expanded nationally.
“We’ve had ideas that we should host a market access programme where we bring together all PWDs under one umbrella to display their products. So this has been a test case for a specific initiative focused on PWDs, giving them business literacy, financial literacy, and market access opportunities,” he explained.
Amo also pointed to the unique challenges that PWDs face in accessing mainstream opportunities. “If there are opportunities available, are we making a special case for PWDs, considering the various challenges they face in their business? There is none. That is why such an initiative, which works through the association of PWDs and focuses on them, helps ensure each and every one of them is brought along,” he said, adding that interpreters were engaged during the training to make learning accessible.
He further called on more corporate bodies to follow the lead of MTN, Fidelity, and GIZ in supporting PWD-led businesses.
“PWDs represent a large pool of untapped economic activity and entrepreneurial potential. They are doing amazing businesses. There is nothing that should be an impediment for them to be able to grow their ideas and scale their innovations,” he said.
Innohub is an enterprise support organization dedicated to empowering Small and Growing Businesses (SGBs) to achieve sustainability, scalability, and investment readiness. It connects businesses to essential capital and bridges the early-stage and missing middle funding gap.
Source:www.KumasiMail.Com/JosephZiem
