Vice President Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang has reiterated the government’s commitment to establishing the Women’s Development Bank, saying the initiative will provide financial support to women who face challenges accessing traditional banking services.
Speaking on The KSM Show on Friday, August 7, Prof. Opoku-Agyemang said the government is “dead serious” about creating the bank and is hopeful it will be launched before the end of the year.
“We said we’ll do the Women’s Development Bank. We are dead serious about it. I’m hoping that before this year ends, we’d have launched it,” she stated.
She explained that the bank will primarily target women in the informal sector, including petty traders, hawkers and small-scale entrepreneurs who often struggle to secure loans due to a lack of collateral and formal financial documentation.
The Vice President questioned whether existing financial institutions adequately serve low-income women who operate outside the formal economy.
“Does it include this lady who went to get somebody’s doughnuts to hawk? Where will this woman get her capital? She’s also a woman,” she said.
According to her, the Women’s Development Bank is designed to close the financing gap by creating opportunities for women who are often excluded from conventional banking systems to access capital and grow their businesses.
Prof. Opoku-Agyemang added that the government’s key priorities also include economic recovery, strengthening security and expanding skills development opportunities to enable citizens to contribute meaningfully to the economy.
“You must start with the things that affect everyone, like the economy, like security. We must all feel safe. We must all get proper training to be able to contribute to that same economy,” she said.
She further praised President John Dramani Mahama’s efforts in addressing economic challenges and removing barriers that hinder growth and improved livelihoods for Ghanaians.
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