Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to advancing women’s economic empowerment through inclusive policies, institutional reforms, and practical interventions that improve women’s access to finance, markets, and economic opportunities.
The Minister for Gender, Children and Social Protection, Dr Agnes Naa Momo Lartey, gave the assurance during a closed-door Ministerial Policy Roundtable on Monday, October 19, 2026, at the Second Egumeni Dialogue on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Held under the theme “From Policy Commitments to Reforms: Creating an Enabling Environment for Women’s Economic Participation,” the roundtable focused on translating existing policies and legal frameworks into practical measures that enable women to participate meaningfully in economic activities.
Dr Lartey said the challenge was not always the absence of policies but whether institutions, budgets, financial systems and implementation arrangements were adequately structured to deliver tangible benefits.
She stressed that women’s economic empowerment must be treated as a macroeconomic and development priority because of its impact on household welfare, employment, productivity and national growth.
Highlighting Ghana’s interventions, she cited the National Gender Policy 2025–2034, implementation of the Affirmative Action (Gender Equity) Act, 2024 (Act 1121), and the proposed Women’s Development Bank as key measures to address structural barriers facing women.
She said expanding access to finance also required reviewing lending criteria, financial products and risk-assessment systems to make affordable financing more accessible, particularly to women operating businesses in the informal economy.
The Minister said the proposed Women’s Development Bank should form part of a broader financial inclusion strategy that links women entrepreneurs to business development services, markets, skills and technology.
Such support, she explained, would help women-owned businesses grow, improve productivity, create jobs and strengthen women’s economic independence.
She also called for stronger gender-responsive budgeting to ensure allocations for women’s economic empowerment are clearly identified, adequately resourced, and linked to measurable outcomes.
She emphasised the need for closer coordination among the Ministry of Finance, financial institutions, regulators, trade and industry institutions, local government and the private sector.
On regional trade, Dr Lartey urged stakeholders to help women-owned enterprises take advantage of opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She highlighted the need to connect women entrepreneurs to export markets and buyers, improve access to product standards and certification, strengthen digital marketing and e-commerce skills, and expand access to trade information, logistics and export financing.
She reaffirmed Ghana’s commitment to working with the African Union and other member states under the Women and Youth Financial and Economic Inclusion 2030 (WYFEI 2030) initiative to promote shared learning, strengthen accountability and accelerate reforms to advance women’s financial and economic empowerment across Africa.