Dr Mohammed Amin Adam, former Finance Minister, has expressed concerns over the government’s proposal to establish a Women’s Development Bank, questioning its financial viability and the adequacy of its funding.

He raised these issues during an interview with Channel One TV on Monday, 17th March 2025.

Dr Adam highlighted a significant disparity between the allocated budget and the capital required for such a financial institution.

According to him, the proposed funding falls far below the minimum threshold needed to establish a sustainable banking entity.

“There is also the Women’s Development Bank idea, which was to support our women to do trade and meaningful vocation, creating jobs for themselves, which I also think cannot be delivered,” he remarked.

He stressed that while the concept aims to empower women economically, its implementation appears impractical given the financial constraints.

He further questioned how the government could promise to establish a development bank specifically for women while allocating only GHS51 million for its creation.

“How can you promise to set up a development bank for women and then allocate only GHS51 million towards the establishment of this bank when the minimum capital requirement for establishing a universal bank is GHS400 million?” he asked.

Dr Adam elaborated that development finance institutions, such as the proposed Women’s Development Bank, generally require even higher capital thresholds.

He noted that the capital requirement for such institutions typically ranges between GHS600 million and GHS1.2 billion, making the current allocation grossly inadequate.

“The minimum capital requirement ranges between GHS600 million and GHS1.2 billion. In fact, the least of them is the guaranteed development finance institutions, which is GHS300 million. So this is just deceptive,” he added.