The government is introducing dedicated support programmes to help Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) prepare bankable business proposals and overcome difficulties in accessing financing, Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare has announced.
The intervention is expected to help entrepreneurs translate viable business ideas into proposals that meet the requirements of financial institutions, addressing one of the major obstacles preventing small businesses, particularly women-owned enterprises, from accessing credit and expanding their operations.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare said many entrepreneurs had viable business ideas and plans but struggled to secure financing because they lacked the technical capacity to present their proposals in a format banks could assess and approve.
“We know that you have a plan. We need to make it presentable so that the bank will understand. We will help you to speak the bank’s language so that you get access to finance,” she said.
The Minister announced the initiative at the fifth Ghana Women Entrepreneurship Summit (GWES 2026), held in Accra on Tuesday, November 10, under the theme, “Empowering Women to Drive Trade, Innovation and Industrial Growth.”
She said government was moving beyond providing general business support to equipping entrepreneurs with the financing knowledge, market connections and technical capacity needed to grow their enterprises, improve productivity and create sustainable employment.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare also disclosed that more than 2,800 businesses led by women, young people and persons with disabilities had received export-readiness training and cross-border trade support under the West Africa Trade Facilitation Programme.
The programme is being implemented by the Ministry in partnership with TradeMark Africa and the World Bank.
She said the intervention was designed to prepare businesses to participate in cross-border commerce and take advantage of opportunities in regional and international markets.
The Minister further highlighted the Ministry’s collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) through the Accelerated Export Development Programme and the Feed the Industry initiative to connect local producers with potential buyers.
She urged women entrepreneurs to take advantage of the various government interventions to move beyond small-scale trading into large-scale production, export development and industrial growth.
Mrs Ofosu-Adjare stressed that women must increasingly be recognised not merely as beneficiaries of economic support but as producers, employers, innovators, exporters and market leaders.
She also called for stronger investment in value addition, product certification and business formalisation to enable Ghanaian enterprises to compete effectively under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
According to her, adding value to locally produced goods would enable businesses to secure better returns, create employment and expand their market reach.
She cautioned, however, that formalisation processes must be simplified to avoid imposing additional burdens on small businesses.
“Formalisation should ease access to finance, contracts, and markets rather than impose additional burden,” she emphasised.
The fifth edition of the Ghana Women Entrepreneurship Summit brought together policymakers, women entrepreneurs, business leaders and development partners to examine ways of strengthening women-led enterprises and expanding their contribution to Ghana’s trade and industrial development.
Source: www.kumasimail.com
