Government drives shea sector transformation to boost local value addition and job creation

The Government of Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to transforming the national shea industry into a globally competitive, value-added sector.

This aims to drive economic empowerment, create sustainable jobs, and enhance livelihoods for women and youth in Northern Ghana.

Speaking at the 3rd Edition of the World Shea Expo at the Modern City Hotel in Tamale, the Vice President, Her Excellency Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang, called for a strategic pivot from exporting raw shea nuts toward industrial processing, product innovation, standard packaging, and global branding.

The three-day event, organised on the theme "From Local Commodity to Global Brand: Accelerating Women and Youth-Led Value Addition in Shea," assembled policymakers, traditional authorities, Metropolitan, Municipal, and District Chief Executives (MMDCEs), processors, youth entrepreneurs, and international trade partners across the value chain.

Delivering the keynote address, Vice President Opoku-Agyemang emphasised the imperative of retaining high-value returns within local communities that have historically sustained the industry.

"Ghana can no longer focus predominantly on exporting raw shea resources when substantial economic opportunities exist in processing, packaging, certification, and international marketing," she noted.

To address systemic financing hurdles for female processors, the Vice President announced the Government's policy initiative to establish a dedicated Women’s Bank. The financial institution is structured to provide accessible, affordable and sustainable credit to enable female entrepreneurs to scale operations from small-scale gathering into commercial processing ventures.

She further urged tertiary and research institutions, particularly the University for Development Studies (UDS), to deepen technical collaboration with industry actors to integrate technology, research, and digital marketing into production.

Prior to the main event, the Vice President led a symbolic shea tree planting exercise at Futa in the Northern Region to launch a demonstration farm dedicated to grafted shea seedling cultivation.

The initiative aims to accelerate maturity periods, promote environmental conservation, and protect native parklands from depletion.

In his welcome address, the Northern Regional Minister, Mr Ali Adolf John, highlighted the strategic position of the region as Ghana's primary shea hub and commended rural women for their central role in sustaining the supply chain.

Mr Adolf stressed that connecting youth to modern technology, finance, and export markets will convert the commodity into a major engine for decent job creation, appealing for multi-stakeholder partnerships to unlock sustainable capital investments.