SheTrades Ghana Hub: Expanding opportunities for women to trade

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