About 10,000 female shea processors have received training in financial accounting to enhance their business acumen in the trade.
It is also to enable them develop a comprehensive database that will help access finance to boost their business as well produce to meet the required standard.
The event, organised by the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) in partnership with MasterCard Foundation as part of the Young Africa Works Programme, is implemented under the Shea Business Empowerment Programme (SBEP) to imbue in the women the need to establish a database for their activities.
Tradeline Consult, an Accra-based company with offices in Malawi, undertook the training for t participants.
The event was also in partnership with Advans Ghana, Women for Change, the SOFTtribe, AgroCenta and GSA Sustainability Partners to help empower most of the rural women to alleviate poverty.
The three-year strategy is to develop and enhance Shea cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in accessing capital, developing critical skills and market linkages in the Shea value chain.
Managing Partner at Tradeline Consult, Forster Gomashie, said the firm partnered with the USAID-Mobilising Finance for Agriculture Project (MFA) to support SMEs – especially women in the soy, maize, Shea, mango, cashew, cowpea value chains.
“We therefore utilised the opportunity to concentrate in the Shea value chains to target working with 10,000 women. As part of the strategy to achieve the set goals, we encouraged partnerships to build the capacity of SME members, especially women in business management to access finance for their productivity,” he said.
Mr. Gomashie said the training was to equip the participants with finance and accounting skills, as well provide key solutions which were major problems for SMEs.
He noted that the firm partnered with the Finance Factory initiative to provide dedicated graduate trainees to be actively dedicated to the SMEs and support them with their book-keeping needs at their own convenience, and store the data online using robust user-friendly accounting software.
Some participants expressed gratitude for the support, saying the training was very practical and exposed their weaknesses in financial management.
