Women’s Economic Empowerment: SNG trains 200 women on financial literacy

In a significant stride towards promoting women's empowerment and fostering economic independence, Shea Network Ghana (SNG) an organization of Shea Sector Businesses and Actors has recently conducted an impactful training program for two hundred (200) selected women entrepreneurs, focusing on enhancing their financial literacy skills.

The training was held at separate centres and participated by women from 8 communities in four regions and districts within Northern Ghana where the organization works.

In the Northern region, the one-day training took place in the Mion district and West Gonja Municipal for the Savanna region. For Upper East and Upper West, the training was held in Garu-Tempane and Sissala West Municipal respectively. In all, fifty (50) participants from each district, attended the training.

The Financial Literacy Training, was a key component of the Women's Economic Advancement for Collective Transformation (WEACT) Project, a 5-year initiative spearheaded by OXFAM Ghana in collaboration with SNG and sponsored by Global Affairs Canada.

The WEACT Project aims to uplift women's economic status and catalyze collective transformation within communities.

The training sessions were thoughtfully designed to address the financial knowledge gap among women, equipping them with essential skills to effectively manage their finances. The participants, hailing from diverse backgrounds and age groups, were engaged in interactive discussions covering various aspects of financial literacy, including budgeting, saving strategies, responsible borrowing, tracking of business records, digital finance and long-term financial planning.

Speaking in an interview at one of the training centres, the WEACP Project Manager at the Shea Network Ghana Mrs. Ubaidatu Iddrisu revealed that the Project, which encompasses a broader vision of women's economic advancement, was a collaborative effort that envisions the upliftment of women as a catalyst for positive transformation in communities.

She also explained that the training was not only targeted at the women present but the entire community where women thrive daily to gain financial freedom, adding that the SNG was committed to empowering women with the tools they need to secure their economic future.

"By providing these financial literacy training, we are not only empowering individual women but also fostering economic growth at a community level," she stated.

She expressed gratitude to OXFAM Ghana and Global Affairs Canada (GAC) for sponsoring the project and urged the beneficiaries to ensure that they use the knowledge they have acquired for their benefit and that of their communities. She further tasked them to transfer what they have learned to others to help broaden the impact in the communities.

“OXFAM Ghana's partnership and Global Affairs Canada's support have been instrumental in bringing this project to fruition,” she stated. “The WEACT Project is not just about financial literacy; it is about creating lasting change through collective empowerment.”

Some of the women, in an interview, expressed gratitude to the Shea Network Ghana and their sponsors for the knowledge they received.

They also promised to make use of the skills, train their colleagues and grow their businesses.

"I didn’t know that as an entrepreneur, it is important to keep daily records of our businesses, but today, we are told to always record whatever transaction we do,” a participant stated.

“They taught us many things some of which include: how and why to save money, how and why to practice responsibly borrowing, daily records keeping and others which think will help us a lot going forward in our business,” another participant said.