Ghanian woman in pink t-shirt holds a tray of soaps next to a stand of beauty products.

Updates

SheTrades Ghana Hub: Expanding opportunities for women to trade

Women’s economic empowerment

28 March 2024

ITC News

The new SheTrades Hub in Ghana will serve as a resource centre for women entrepreneurs to join training programmes, access ITC resources, and find new business opportunities.

This brings to 18 the number of SheTrades Hubs operating around the world. This growing network is a cornerstone of efforts at the International Trade Centre (ITC) to enhance the business environment for women to unlock new markets.

ITC, in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), launched the Hub during a four-day series of events that ran 19-22 March. Among the offerings was a two-day workshop for Ghanaian women, a SheTrades Outlook policy workshop, and an exhibition showcasing women-led businesses from Ghana and Rwanda.

British High Commissioner to Ghana Harriett Thompson attended the launch, as well as Ghanaian policymakers, business support organizations, women’s business associations and development partners.

Dr Afua Asabea Asare, who heads GEPA, signed a memorandum of understanding with Raimund Moser, who heads the ITC Women, Youth and Vulnerable Communities Section. That marked another step to strengthen their organizations’ partnership to support Ghanian women in trade.

ITC also conducted a two-day workshop for 40 Ghanian and eight Rwandan women entrepreneurs on digital branding, social media marketing and visual content creation. They delved into graphic design principles and effective brand communication strategies for their business.

Bolstering women’s entrepreneurship and access to new business opportunities

A panel discussion on unlocking opportunities for Ghanaian women through trade followed the signing ceremony.

On the sidelines of the event, eight Rwandan women showcased their fruit and vegetable businesses, alongside 24 Ghanaian women working with shea and chocolate. Over 50 potential buyers visited the booths and conducted sales inquiries.

The exhibition was organized in collaboration with two ITC programmes: the Ghana: United Kingdom Trade Partnership and the Value-added Initiative to Boost Employment Programme for Women-led Businesses.

Sharing good practices on inclusive policymaking and identifying areas for improvement

ITC also delivered a SheTrades Outlook policy workshop, presenting key findings of the SheTrades Outlook data collected on Ghana’s trade and business environment for women from 11 national institutions and five private sector organizations.

65 representatives from government agencies, business support organizations and women’s business associations participated in discussions on SheTrades Outlook results and ongoing policies and programmes on women’s economic empowerment. Priorities highlighted during the discussions included identifying next steps to better integrate women’s participation in public procurement and to update the SheTrades Outlook data, which was collected in 2019.

During the workshop, ITC, GEPA and the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) shared how they collaborated to incorporate women’s voices into the country’s 2019 small business policy and its National Export Development Strategy 2020–2029 to promote women’s participation in business and trade-related policymaking.

ITC is committed to continue collaborating with MOTI, GEPA and other government institutions to ensure that gender-responsive policies create concrete outcomes for women.

I am thrilled to see the diverse array of activities lined up across these few days, with each of these activities strategically designed to equip women-led business with the knowledge, skills and networks they need to succeed in the digital economy. I want to highlight the significance of the SheTrades Outlook policy workshop and dialogue. By assessing the inclusiveness of the policy environment for women in trade, we are not only raising awareness of existing challenges, but also are identifying concrete opportunities for policy reform.

Charles Abani

UN Resident Coordinator, Ghana

The SheTrades Initiative, which represents more than a collaboration, supports women to showcase their products and services to international buyers, access learning, investment, and business opportunities to take their businesses global in a sustainable manner. Through this partnership of GEPA and the ITC SheTrades Initiative, we aim to create a vibrant ecosystem where women entrepreneurs have access to the tools, resources, and networks necessary to thrive in the global markets.

Afua Asabea Asare

Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA)

CEO

Men and women sitting in a conference room participating in a presentation.

21 March 2024, Accra, Ghana – Representatives from government ministries, business support organizations and women’s business associations attend the SheTrades Outlook policy workshop on the SheTrades Outlook data findings on Ghana’s policy environment for women entrepreneurs.

Photo by ITC

21 March 2024, Accra, Ghana – Esther Naa Achaawa Quarcoopome, founder of Exotic Naturals showcases her shea products at the SheTrades Exhibition.

Photo by ITC

Two Rwandan women sitting behind a table displaying dried seeds and tea products.

21 March 2024, Accra, Ghana – Rwandan women entrepreneurs Marie Ange Mukagahima of Zima Healthy Ltd and Yvonne Emmanuella Iradukunda of Rwagasabo AgroTech exhibit their products at the SheTrades Exhibition. The Rwandan women also attended a digital branding training and exhibition activities as part of the Ghana-Rwanda Trade Mission, organized by the TradeMark Africa-led VIBE Programme implemented by ITC and in partnership with Mastercard Foundation.

Photo by ITC

Six women sitting on a stage engaging in a panel discussion.

21 March 2024, Accra, Ghana – ITC Global Coordinator of SheTrades Hubs Dr. Michelle Kristy (furthest left) moderates a panel on supporting Ghanaian women through trade featuring (from left to right) Sava Shea Company Ltd Founder Ms. Ruth Guribie, Absa Bank Ghana SME, Agency Banking and Partnerships Director Ms. Audrey Abakah, Npontu Co-Founder Ms. Deborah Asmah, African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat Gender and Trade Expert Ms. Florence Mulenga-Sinyangwe, and Regional Trade for Development Adviser for West and Central Africa from the British High Commission in Ghana Ms. Victoria Allard.

Photo by ITC

Two men and two women standing on a stage, with the man and the woman in the centre each holding a copy of the signed agreement.

21 March 2024, Accra, Ghana – A memorandum of understanding was signed on the SheTrades Ghana Hub. GEPA’s chief executive offier, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare signed the memorandum with Raimund Moser, who heads the ITC section for Women, Youth and Vulnerable Communities Section.

Photo : ITC

About ITC SheTrades Hubs

ITC SheTrades Hubs are resource centres dedicated to women entrepreneurs and implemented in partnership with the ITC SheTrades Initiative. Hosted by leading in-country or regional institutions, SheTrades Hubs offer women entrepreneurs the knowledge, skills and platforms to access market and investment opportunities.

We bring together a community of partners to scale up resources and initiatives to support women in trade.

About ITC SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme

Financed by the UK International Development and launched in April 2018, the ITC SheTrades Commonwealth+ Programme aims to foster an enabling gender-inclusive business ecosystem by promoting inclusive policy and data and engaging business support organizations, private-sector partners, and women-led businesses in the Commonwealth+ countries.

About ITC SheTrades Outlook

SheTrades Outlook is ITC’s policy tool that promotes more inclusive policies and data. Through 55 indicators and 6 pillars, the tool helps stakeholders assess, monitor, and improve the institutional ecosystem for women’s participation in business and international trade.

Policymakers and other stakeholders can find more details on the results and recommendations in the SheTrades Outlook Ghana policy brief, available on the online tool.

ITC invites additional countries across the world to join SheTrades Outlook. For more information, please visit https://outlook.shetrades.com or contact womenandtrade [at] intracen.org (womenandtrade[at]intracen[dot]org).