Ghana: Access Bank backs women in agribusiness under ‘Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton Season 5’

Access Bank Ghana maintains its leadership in championing women’s initiatives through its flagship program for women, the ‘W’ Initiative.

As part of the 2023 Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton competition, Access Bank Ghana is providing financial support, world-class business training, and mentorship to women-owned businesses in the agriculture value chain.

While originally organized for all subsidiaries of Access Bank Group, the past two seasons (four and five) have been specifically championed in Ghana, encouraging greater participation from across the country.

The top 50 women entrepreneurs have been selected to participate in a business management bootcamp (BMB) to equip them with skills they need to manage and scale-up their businesses.

Speaking on the latest edition of the Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton competition, Executive Director for Retail and Digital Banking at Access Bank Ghana, Pearl Nkrumah said season five offers opportunity to women in Agribusinesses to build their capacity in business management and receive financial support for their businesses.

“The training will be organised by the GIZ AgriBiz Programme and will cover important topics including Strategic Planning, Digital Marketing, Market Alternatives & Growth Strategies, Business Planning, Financial Management, Costing & Pricing. These are meant to build their capacity to navigate the business terrain to be profitable.”

She also shed light on the prizes for season five.

“The top 3 finalists will each receive seed capital of ¢100,000. Other participants will receive consolation prizes including free website development, digital advertisement, and cash prize of ¢30,000. All top 50 will also receive post business coaching support from January to March 2024. The Managing Director’s special award of ¢20,000 will go to the most ecofriendly business in the competition”.

The ‘W’ initiative is a one-stop-shop for all Access Bank’s women empowerment offerings. It seeks to inspire, connect, and empower women through initiatives such as the Womenpreneur Pitch-a-ton competition, which has trained and given grants to over 300 women since its inception in 2019.