Development Bank Ghana gives women-led business a boost

Development Bank Ghana (DBG) has gone into partnership with Sinapi Aba to give businesses which are led by women a boost.

Christened “LeapHer”, 2500 women will benefit from the lending initiative, which aims to empower women who are into business and thereby enhancing financial inclusion.

The collaboration between the two entities, follows a research conducted by DBG on Gender Mainstreaming Investment that established gender disparities and barriers within Ghana’s financial landscape.

In view of the above, DBG has extended a total of GH¢ 23M to Sinapi to be disbursed to MSMEs in specific sectors of the economy namely: Working Capital, Business Expansion and Asset Acquisition for women-led businesses in Agriculture, Manufacturing, and High-Value Services such as Education, Health, Tourism and Transportation.

Out of the above mentioned amount, a total of GH¢ 8M, constituting 35% of the funds, would be invested in Sinapi Aba’s LeapHer program—a customized lending program specifically for women-owned businesses.

Announcing the collaboration at the 30th Anniversary celebration of Sinapi Aba Savings & Loans Ltd, which was held in Kumasi recently. Mr. Michael Mensah-Baah, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the DBG, stated that the bank has launched its tailored lending program specifically for women owned businesses in partnership with Sinapi Aba.

“The program, dubbed, ‘LeapHer, is specifically customised to address the challenges and barriers that female entrepreneurs encounter in accessing finance for their businesses.”

Mr Mensah-Baah told the media the partnership forms part of DBG’s vision of accelerating an inclusive and sustainable economic transformation, by fostering the growth of a competitive private sector.

On the partnership between DBG and Sinapi Aba, he indicated that the collaboration is at the initial stage, disclosing that many of such programs are in the offing to support women-led businesses.

Following research conducted by DBG on Gender Mainstreaming Investment in Ghana, the bank, according to Micheal Baah-Mensah has announced its commitment to investing 15 percent of its available funding, approximately GH¢1billion into women-led businesses in the next 3 to 5 years.

On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of Sinapi Aba, Mr. Anthony Gyasi Fosu, hailed the creation of DBG by the government of the day, underscoring that DBG is not only focus on bigger corporations but they find institution like Sinapi Aba to partner with them to reach what he describes as the low market.

This pact, according to Mr Gyasi Fosu is a great move since they (Sinapi Aba) have been in the market for over thirty years and then have seen that women-led business do not survive at all.

Asked about the criteria for disbursement, Anthony Gyasi noted that women-led enterprise can apply provided they can upscale to the stage of their businesses, emphasizing that ability to repay the loan to get every dime to DBG.

Earlier, the Chief Executive of DBG, Kwamina Duker, in his fraternal message at the 30-years anniversary celebration of Sinapi Aba that DBG aims to become the leading inclusive impact lender for local businesses based on loan volume and positive environmental and social impact metrics.

This feat, Duker continued can be achieved through onboarding Special Deposit Institutions (SDIs) to amplify DBG’s impact through lending to more MSMEs across all 16 regions of Ghana has been DBG’s strategy.

According to him, through their joint initiatives, Sinapi Aba and DBG provide financial support and foster an environment conducive to sustainable growth.

The ripple effect Kwamina Duker noted is evident in the smiles of the entrepreneurs whose businesses have flourished and the communities that have witnessed positive transformation.