Only a third of women in Africa have formal ownership for all registered Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s), Ghana's Governor of the central bank has said.

According to Dr Ernest Addison, women-owned SMEs are more likely to have lower sales and annual turnover with less employees and a smaller size workforce than those enterprises owned by men.

Speaking at a webinar on integrating gender considerations into COVID-19 policy solutions on Monday, September 14, 2020, the Bank of Ghana governor said a March 2020 African Development Bank study also confirms that female entrepreneurs lack access to critical funding despite dominating key growth sectors such as agriculture, textile, and garments.

“These statistics tell a story that is troubling particularly in the context of the new economic realities that the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed on the developing world,” Dr Ernest Addison noted.

To address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on SME’s, the governor reiterated government’s resolve to adequately disburse a support package of a small loan facility to MSMEs to the tune of GH¢600 million.

The funds, currently is being distributed to SME’s by the National Board for Small Scale Industries under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme for Businesses (CaPBuss).