Enhance management capabilities of women - GAWE

Accra, Feb. 2, GNA - Mrs Lucia Quachey, President of Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE), on Wednesday called for the enhancement of the entrepreneurial management capabilities of women for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDG).

She described women entrepreneurs as a formidable force for the take-off of industrialisation in Ghana and Africa stressing; "women serve as the bedrock for reducing poverty and unemployment which were vital yardsticks for the attainment of the MDG objectives".

Mrs Quachey, who was addressing a press conference to launch an advocacy campaign for Women Access to Credit, called for greater collaboration between financial institutions and women entrepreneurs at all levels to reduce the hindrance women encountered in accessing credit.

She said lack of business focus, poor strategic and business planning, incompetent management, poor operational control and discipline, lack of current and credible information systems and data base, lack of desire to share ownership and poor culture of voluntarily paying debts had served as constraints for women in accessing funds. The GAWE President called for collaboration between the women entrepreneurs, financial institutions and policy regulators to reduce the bottlenecks.