AngloGold Ashanti, NBSSI partner to empower women-owned businesses in Obuasi

Over 150 women who run their own businesses in Obuasi are currently being trained to enable them to gain relevant knowledge to improve their businesses. The training, which started last Monday will run for two weeks with almost 30 women participating each day.

Speaking at the launch of the training, Hon. Elijah Adansi Bonah, the Obuasi Municipal Chief Executive reiterated the great support the Municipality has received from the Mine since its comeback. He encouraged the women to also involve their children in their businesses in order to make their businesses sustainable.

“The Lebanese who are now successful businessmen in Ghana didn’t start today. Their fathers and grandfathers came to Ghana many years ago and started those businesses and today their businesses are still flourishing because their parents made them part of it” he said.

“If you sell pepper, teach your child how to also sell pepper so that if she goes to the university and completes, he or she can use the knowledge obtained at the university to improve and take your business to a next level” the Obuasi Boss added.

Emmanuel Baidoo, Senior Manager, Sustainability at the AngloGold Ashanti Ghana, Obuasi Mine, also explained that the training might not necessarily put money into the pockets of the participants but it will help improve their businesses through the relevant knowledge they would obtain by the end of the training.

“The training will also help them to formalize their businesses to be able to take advantage of other opportunities,” he said.

The participants were selected from the agro-processing and service sector by the NBSSI. The women, by the end of the training, would be able to keep proper records of their businesses and learn other skills that would help improve their sales.

Kelvin Ofori Atta, the Municipal Director for National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in Obuasi revealed that most of the women who are participating in the training are beneficiaries of the NBSSI loan given by the government to businesses affected by the outbreak of the deadly COVID-19 pandemic.