The Member of Parliament for the Tamale North constituency, who doubles as the Deputy Minister for Roads and Highways, Alhassan Sayibu Suhuyini, has formally launched the One Heart Women Empowerment Fund, an initiative to support women in small-scale businesses.
A seed capital of one million cedis has been committed to provide financial support to about 5,000 beneficiaries to scale up their businesses.
Addressing the media, the National Democratic Congress (NDC) lawmaker noted the intention is to empower these women to be financially sustainable in order for them to be able to support their families and the education of their children.
“It is aimed at supporting the Waakye seller, the Jollof seller, the Koko seller and the Koose seller. It is aimed at ensuring that people, especially women who have these small businesses, receive the necessary support that can either initiate or expand their businesses” he explained.
Mr. Suhuyini noted that the beneficiaries have been carefully selected from various SME groups who have demonstrated commitment and resilience to thrive in what they are doing. He added these groups often hold business meetings during weekends in their communities to discuss plans and also contribute merger resources to support their businesses.
“And so we have carefully selected these groups to be used as the foundation block for what we intend to do with the One Heart Foundation,” he emphasised.
The Deputy Roads Minister in his remarks announced that each group will receive an interest-free loan ranging between GHS10,000 and GHS20,000 to support their businesses. However, they are expected to commence the repayment process after every two weeks of their meetings.
The MP’s intervention satisfies the UN Sustainable Development Goal 8, which promotes decent work and economic growth for all by 2030.
Mr. Suhuyini acknowledged the role of some state agencies including the Ghana Enterprises Agency and the National Apprenticeship Programme. He promised to further liaise with both state and non-state actors to support more women-owned businesses.
Meanwhile, some of the beneficiaries in an interview vowed to scale up their businesses with the funds when received. They also commended efforts of the MP over the years to improve the livelihoods of the constituents.
