Mr Jules-Armand Aniambossou, French Ambassador to Ghana has reaffirmed the French Government’s commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs in Ghana to expand their businesses and contribute to the country’s socio-economic development.
He said the commitment was grounded on President Emmanuel Macron’s vision of fostering renewed relations between France and the African continent geared towards poverty reduction and sustainable growth and development.
Mr Aniambossou said this on his working visit to a shea processing centre at Tugu, a farming community in the Tamale Metropolis on Tuesday.
The centre is an initiative of Advans Savings and Loans, a French-owned financial institution operating across Ghana to support marginalised communities and small businesses.
The shea processing initiative is being implemented in partnership with NGOs such as the Mastercard Foundation, Global Shea Alliance, and Sahel Agricultural Services amongst others.
Mr Aniambossou said France, through the French Development Agency, was leveraging key interventions to support various sectors of Ghana’s economy including agriculture, energy, the creative industry, and entrepreneurship to promote sustainable development.
He said, “Ghana is a very rich country with many opportunities for sustainable development, and France is ready to be the partner you can trust and rely on for mutual partnerships.”
Mr Guillaume Valence, Chief Executive Officer of Advans Savings and Loans in Tamale, said over the past three years, the shea processing initiative had benefitted approximately 8,000 women in the shea industry creating jobs and new business opportunities.
He added that 90 cooperatives had received training and capacity building support with 46 of them benefiting from financial assistance in 2024 alone amounting to nearly GHc4,000,000.
Mr Valence commended the women for their timely loan repayments noting that their commitment had encouraged the institution to expand its support to other women and to diversify into additional value chains within the agricultural sector.
Hajia Latifa Osman, a beneficiary of the initiative, expressed gratitude to Advans and its partners.
She said the support had enabled her to invest in her children’s education, adding “I have four children, and with the help of this initiative, I have been able to support their schooling. One of them recently graduated with a degree in Agricultural Science, and another is currently studying Architecture at the university.”
Madam Fuseina Andani, Leader of the Tugu Cooperative Unit said the project had exposed them to appreciate the benefits associated with shea processing.
She appealed for additional support in the form of tricycles, a warehouse, and a well-equipped shea processing centre to help boost production and efficiency.
