A roundtable organised by Star Ghana Foundation, the Network for Women’s Rights in Ghana (NETRIGHT) and the Centre for Gender Studies and Advocacy (CEGENSA) at the University of Ghana has called for a coordinated, systems-wide approach to remove the barriers preventing women entrepreneurs from growing their businesses.
The dialogue, held under the theme “Women’s Enterprise in Ghana: Strengthening the Ecosystem for Growth,” brought together policymakers, financial institutions, academics and trade actors to examine persistent constraints facing women-led businesses, including limited access to finance, land, skills and markets.
Eunice Agbenyadzi, Head of Programmes at Star Ghana Foundation, said achieving meaningful progress requires structured collaboration across sectors rather than isolated interventions. She noted that a systems approach covering policy, financing, market access, and infrastructure such as transport and communication is necessary to drive sustainable growth for women entrepreneurs.
Citing data from the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), the Overseas Development Institute and the International Trade Centre, Ms. Agbenyadzi said women account for about 42 percent of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana. Despite this significant presence, she noted that women-owned businesses continue to face disproportionate barriers in accessing credit due to collateral requirements, entering new markets and securing land for productive use.
She drew attention to the proposed Women’s Development Bank as a potentially transformative intervention, describing it as a game-changer for credit access if properly structured and fully implemented to address the specific financial needs of women entrepreneurs.
The dialogue also focused on rural women entrepreneurs, particularly farmers and small-scale producers, who face compounded difficulties in accessing land, credit and markets.
In a keynote address, Professor Akosua Darkwah, Professor of Sociology at the University of Ghana and convenor of NETRIGHT, called for a shift in mindset among entrepreneurs themselves, arguing that an inability to meet demand often reflects inadequate planning for growth rather than lack of opportunity. She urged Ghanaians to buy locally made products while advocating improved payment systems and transport logistics to support exports.
Prof. Darkwah also pointed to the burden of unpaid care work as a structural constraint on women’s economic participation, calling on both the state and families to redistribute those responsibilities to enable women to devote more time to their enterprises.
