Ghana nurtures female entrepreneurs to take advantage of African free trade area: official

ACCRA, May 17 (Xinhua) -- Ghana is nurturing women entrepreneurs to take advantage of opportunities brought by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to expand their businesses, a Ghanaian official said Wednesday.

The AfCFTA has been offering great opportunities for women, Agnes Adjei-Sam, director for market development and promotion at the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), told Xinhua in an interview.

"Many Ghanaian women in innovative businesses that, when well-developed, could become continental and global brands through participating in the free trade area," said the director.

"The AfCFTA makes provision for helping women to formalize their businesses. And that makes the woman more secure in trading, more secure to look for partners. So at GEPA, we will nurture Ghanaian women to take full advantage of opportunities," Adjei-Sam added.

The official noted that many Ghanaian women's products did not require much capital or complex and expensive machinery; most of them are the daily necessities people depend on.

"In every capacity-building program that we do, a good percentage of participants are women. Whether it is training, market access, product development or trade information, there is always a good representation of women," she said.