French govt supports women in income-generating activities

Business News of Monday, 2 March 2015

Source: Graphic Online

Ghana Cedis 19Nov2010

The French government has supported about 280 women engaged in various income-generating activities in the Tamale Metropolis with an amount of GH¢108,000 under its Fund for Social Development (FSD) project, a micro-credit scheme.

The beneficiaries are engaged in shea butter and rice processing, groundnut oil extraction and petty trading.

The project, which is being implemented by the Ghana Developing Communities Association (GDCA), a Tamale-based non-governmental organisation, through the support of the French Government, is aimed at supporting women in the region with loans to improve upon their businesses.

This came to light when the French Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Frederick Clavier, visited the beneficiaries at Jisonaayli, a suburb of the Tamale metropolis, to interact with them and also to access the extent to which the support has impacted on their businesses and families.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr Clavier said access to micro-credit facilities was a key issue in the country, and thus the French government decided to come up with the scheme aimed at reducing poverty and improving the living conditions of vulnerable groups, especially women.

Mr Clavier urged the beneficiaries to make good use of the opportunities offered them to expand their businesses so as to improve upon their incomes.

The Northern Regional Minister, Alhaji Mohammed Muniru Limuna, thanked the French government for supporting the country and the deprived communities in the region.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, Madam Musah Hawabu, one of the beneficiaries, said women in the region possessed skills in the agro-processing sector which, with a little support, would help them to earn some decent incomes and go a long way to empower women and make them financially independent to enable them to support their families and children.

She said life used to be difficult for them, because most of them were widows and could not turn anywhere for financial support to pay for the cost of education of their children.

“The intervention of the French government with a grant of GH¢108,000 has helped us own our businesses and also helped us to get money to pay for our children’s school fees but only that we would have wished for more financial support to enable us to buy and produce more,” she said.

She appealed to the French Government to make available more funds to enable them to expand their businesses.

The Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Developing Community Association (GDCA), a micro-credit scheme, Naa Professor Abubakar Al-hassan, who chaired the function, said his institution would partner with other organisations to help the women financially in the region.

He mentioned his institution’s readiness to ensure that its partnership with the French government would grow stronger in the coming years.