Gender Minister Urges Private Sector to Collaborate with Government in Empowering Women in Agribusiness

Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Hon. Hajia Lariba Zuweiba Abudu, has pledged government’s commitment to empowering women to become business leaders and key industry players. According to her the government is making efforts to ensure that more women are given the opportunity to participate in agribusiness, a sector that is critical to Ghana’s economy.

Addressing participants at the 2023 Women in Agribusiness Summit, organised by United State Agency for International Development (USAID) and Feed the Future Ghana Mobilizing Finance in Agriculture (MFA) Activity, under the theme “Empowering Women in Agriculture through Enhanced Access to Finance,” the gender minister  encouraged women-led and owned agribusinesses to take advantage of the investment opportunities profiled in the Agribusiness Investment Opportunities , She urged them to make maximum use of the financing that the summits will offer to expand their businesses, improve the lives of their families and communities, and become role models for other women and youth.

The Gender Minister also  noted that the government recognizes the important role that women play in the agriculture sector, and is committed to supporting them through policies and initiatives that will enable them to reach their full potential. She also stressed the need for the private sector to collaborate with the government to create an enabling environment for women in agribusiness to thrive.

The ”Women in Agribusiness” summit held at the Kempinski hotel in Accra, brought together Over 500 participants from Agribusinesses, Transaction Advisors, Investors, Financial Institutions, U.S. and Ghana Government Representatives, Non-Governmental Organizations, Trade Associations, Research Institutions, Civil Society Groups, for the two-day event. The summit also featured plenary and panel discussions on finance and business advisory support for women-led agribusinesses, as well as business-to-business meetings that connected 85 women-led agribusinesses with investment opportunities in the maize, soy, groundnut, cowpea, cashew, mango, and shea value chains to transaction advisors, financial institutions, and investors for financing.

 

BY:AGRIWATCH REPORTER