GWEF empowers women in maiden northern women entrepreneurship conference

The Gloryhill Women Empowerment Foundation (GWEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering underprivileged women, conducted an empowerment session on Saturday, equipping women with the tools and knowledge necessary to achieve financial independence.

This initiative was part of the inaugural Northern Women Entrepreneurship Conference held at the University for Development Studies.

GWEF, in collaboration with the Faculty of Social Sciences, Department of Politics and Governance, Center for Gender and Career Mentorship, and Wocom at UDS Tamale Campus, organized the Northern Women Entrepreneurship Conference to empower over 1,000 women from diverse backgrounds.

The conference, themed “Empowering Women to be Financially Independent,” featured prominent speakers such as Mr. Charles Atia, CEO of B-Diet Limited; Ing. Prof. Linda Dari, Associate Professor of Food and Post-Harvest Engineering at UDS; Madam Neo Thamae Gariba, a retired Development Consultant; and Dr. Naazia Ibrahim, a Lecturer at UDS.

In an interview with NTV News, Mrs. Gloria Abiwu, Chief Executive Officer of the Gloryhill Women Empowerment Foundation, explained that despite many women carrying financial burdens, they are often not economically empowered to achieve financial independence, which is why the conference was organized. She emphasized that empowering women leads to raising responsible children in society.

Mrs. Gloria also highlighted that the conference addressed mental health issues alongside financial empowerment. Additionally, the Foundation is supporting widows with special packages in commemoration of Mother's Day 2024.

The CEO noted that less privileged women attending the conference would receive vocational training to help them start their own businesses. She appealed to corporate Ghana to assist the foundation in realizing its goal of empowering Northern women to become financially independent.

One of the speakers, Madam Vivian Boateng, CEO of Vivi’s Dance and Theater Academy, spoke on the topic of turning passion into business. She encouraged women to identify their talents, start where they are, and strive to make a change. She also called on men to support the empowerment of women.

Dr. Susana Annan, a psychiatrist, addressed mental health issues with a focus on depression, its causes, and symptoms. She noted that symptoms of depression include sadness, loss of interest, poor sleep, and suicidal thoughts.