The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, says the proposed Women’s Development Bank will offer low-interest loans, flexible collateral requirements and tailored business support to women-led enterprises as government seeks to bridge the financing gap affecting female entrepreneurs.
Speaking at the 2026 Ghana Female CEO Summit, she described the initiative as a major economic intervention designed to help women-owned businesses expand and create more jobs.
She announced that the 2026 national budget has allocated GH¢401 million to capitalise the bank, marking a key step toward its establishment.
According to her, the initiative has become necessary because many traditional financial institutions are not structured to adequately support women entrepreneurs.
“This is a specialist financial institution built around one insight: existing commercial banks are not structured to serve women entrepreneurs at scale,” she said.
She explained that beyond financing, the bank will also provide mentorship and business development support, alongside more flexible lending conditions tailored specifically for women and women-led businesses.
Mrs. Ofosu-Adjare emphasised that increasing women’s participation in business and trade is central to Ghana’s economic transformation, noting that women remain a largely underutilised economic force.
“Ghana cannot achieve its economic ambition while leaving half of its population underutilised,” she stressed.
She further revealed that although women own about 40 percent of businesses in the country, they continue to receive only a small portion of available credit.
Citing global estimates, she pointed to the economic benefits of closing the gender financing gap. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), she noted, estimates that closing the gap for SMEs in sub-Saharan Africa could unlock about $42 billion in annual economic value, while the McKinsey Global Institute projects that advancing women’s equality across Africa could add $316 billion to continental GDP.
Beyond financing, the Minister highlighted other government initiatives aimed at supporting women-led enterprises, including the 24-Hour Economy policy, the Affirmative Action framework, and export development programmes under the African Continental Free Trade Area.
She added that women-owned businesses in agro-processing, manufacturing, retail and trade will benefit from tax incentives, trade facilitation measures and industrial park support under these policies.
“The policy architecture is in place. The focus now is execution and speed. Fifty percent of our population cannot be a footnote in our development plans,” she said.
Mrs. Ofosu-Adjare stressed that women’s economic empowerment is not just a social agenda but a core part of Ghana’s competitiveness strategy.
“Countries that unlock the full productive potential of their women grow faster, become more resilient to shocks and build more equitable societies,” she noted.
She also called on financial institutions, development partners and the private sector to align with government’s inclusion agenda by increasing support for women entrepreneurs and SMEs.
“When women succeed, families thrive and nations prosper. That is our guiding philosophy, backed by law, budgetary commitment and political will,” she added.