GAWE to help women to access loans

Sunyani, Aug 09, GNA - Mrs Lucia Quachey, the National President of Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs, has said stringent collateral conditions demanded by financial institutions have constrained women entrepreneurs from contracting loans.

She said the association was negotiating with some of the financial institutions to enable women entrepreneurs to use businesses as collateral when applying for loan.

Speaking at the election of a seven-member executive of the Brong Ahafo Regional branch of the association in Sunyani, Mrs. Quachey advised women entrepreneurs to unite and avoid unnecessary competition that could prove unhealthy.

The GAWE President urged the regional executives not to concentrate their operations in Sunyani but to tour the other district centres to educate women entrepreneurs on the importance of the association.

Mrs Quachey said the association would provide training, market information dissemination through the use of ICT, trade fairs, economic networking, credit, technology transfer, promotion of non-traditional exports and support Government policies that focus on the growth of small and medium scale entrepreneurs in both formal and informal enterprises.

Mrs Quachey said the association was undertaking a project with the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund as an advocacy action to help remove bottlenecks that women entrepreneurs faced in accessing credits from the banks. 09 Aug 05