Minister for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, has described women as Ghana’s “underutilised engine of national growth," stressing that the country cannot achieve its economic ambitions while leaving half of its population underutilised.

Speaking at the 2026 Ghana Female CEOs Summit at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City on Thursday, May 7, the Minister said women’s economic participation should not be treated as a social issue but as a national economic priority.

Addressing participants, she acknowledged the challenges women face in leadership and praised female business leaders for their resilience and contribution to Ghana’s economy.

“I stand before you today wearing several identities all at once, Member of Parliament, Minister of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, and a woman who has navigated the full weight of leadership in rooms that were not always designed with us in mind,” she said.

“I know the discipline, the resilience, and the quiet determination it takes to lead while being watched differently, judged differently, and held to a different standard.”

She added: “I know the immense satisfaction of proving every single day that women belong not only at the table but also at the head of it.”

The Minister commended the female chief executives gathered at the summit, describing their enterprises as evidence that “assets and ambition when combined produce extraordinary results."

“You have built businesses, created employment, navigated economic headwinds, and refused to be the footnote in Ghana’s growth story,” she stated.

She further applauded organisers of the summit, saying the platform represented “nation-building work."

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare stressed that women make up approximately 51 percent of Ghana’s population and therefore could not be sidelined in national development.

“Ghana cannot achieve its economic ambition while leaving half of its population underutilised,” she said.

“We are the majority and under-activated engine of national growth.”

Referencing figures from international institutions, she said the International Finance Corporation estimates that closing the gender financing gap for small and medium-sized enterprises in Sub-Saharan Africa could unlock 42 billion dollars in annual economic value, while the McKinsey Global Institute projects that advancing women’s equality in Africa could add 316 billion dollars to the continent’s GDP.

The Minister also highlighted the critical role women play in Ghana’s agricultural and food sectors.

She argued that empowering women economically remained the “single fastest route” to household prosperity and national resilience, noting that women consistently reinvest most of their income into their families and communities.

Mrs Ofosu-Adjare outlined several government interventions aimed at supporting women-led businesses, including the establishment of the Ghana Women’s Development Bank.

“When it launches, it will be the most targeted financial intervention for women in this country’s history,” she said.

She described women entrepreneurs as partners in Ghana’s national transformation and urged stakeholders to convert discussions into measurable action.

“Women’s economic participation is not a gender programme. It is our national competitiveness strategy,” she stressed.

“Countries that unlock the full productive potential of their women grow faster, prove more resilient to economic shocks, and build more equitable societies.”

She reaffirmed the government’s commitment to building an inclusive and competitive economy.

“Let us build productive industries. Let us expand trade that is inclusive. And let us create an economy that is resilient, competitive, and worthy of the women who are leading it,” she said.