International Women's Day: "Empowering women-owned businesses imperative for socio-economic dev't, catalyst for economic buoyancy"- Supt. Helen K. Quarcoo

Superintendent Helen Korkor Quarcoo, Head of the Commercial Unit at the Senior Correctional Centre (SCC) of the Ghana Prisons Service has underpinned the need for investors in Ghana, Africa and overseas to consciously support women-owned businesses in the country.

Speaking at the Women Investment Summit Africa (WISA 24), held under the auspices of the Oxford Africa Women Leadership Institute (OAWLI) at the British Council, Accra on Tuesday, Supt. Quarcoo said investors globally must fund women-owned businesses.

"Funding with the needed logistics and capital would boost their businesses and that would generate more revenue for the country to accelerate our buoyancy as a nation", she emphasised.

She added that funding women-owned businesses would serve as a viable means of stabilizing the Ghanaian women to harness their business ambitions.

According to the Head of the Commercial Unit at SCC, investors should deliberately empower female entrepreneurs with financial resources and operational support in order to unravel their full potential in the competitive market.

Lamenting the lack of access to seed capital for women-owned businesses, Supt. Quarcoo highlighted that there are increasing number of female entrepreneurs, however funding remains a challenge for some to grow their businesses.

She encourages female entrepreneurs to keep striving for greatness in their business endeavours and commends them for their frantic efforts to put Ghana on the global front.

The SCC Commercial Boss ardently called on investors to visit the SCC for more collaborations in commercial investments because the Senior Correctional Centre is a hub for business relations with interesting products for local and international usage.

H.E Simone Giger, Swiss Ambassador to Ghana, and Guest of Honour at WISA 24, enumerated some challenges women-owned businesses face and indicated that WISA 24 serves as a transformative tool for unlocking success in women's businesses.

The Ambassador reiterated Switzerland's commitment to supporting businesses in Ghana.

H. E Charles Abani, United Nations Resident Coordinator, Ghana noted that the summit was a timely event because of its closeness to the commemoration of International Women's Day.

Mr. Abani commended the Oxford Africa Women Leadership Institute for organising WISA 24 dubbed "Invest in Women: Accelerate Progress".

Mrs. Odelia Ntiamoah, Global Director of OAWLI underscored the need for the summit by expressing gratitude to the sponsors, indicating that it is the gateway for transforming businesses to higher feats.

"With positive energy, WISA is going to make women entrepreneurs future business owners of the world through the women investment fund called the catalytic fund to propel women-owned businesses to perform well in the competitive market," she reiterated.

The Global Director highlighted that WISA would provide proper financial training and business management for women-owned businesses since it is their priority to see women businesses excel internationally.

The high-profile summit was attended by various diplomats, directors of financial institutions, business owners, and women groups.