Two hundred and twenty-five women are undergoing a special business mentorship program meant to economically empower them as well as enhance their trade.

The six-month training programme is spearheaded by a local financial institution, Sinapi Aba Savings and Loans, to address the issue of unemployment and poor business practices, especially in the informal sector.

The Women Mentorship programme which started in 2020 is meant to economically empower women especially in the informal sector.

The 225 women beneficiaries of the second edition are made up 75 mentors and the rest being mentees. Last year, 156 mentors and mentees all together took part in the program.

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CEO of Sinapi Aba, Tony Fosu, has advised the beneficiaries not to compete among themselves but rather learn from each other.

“In business, you need pieces of advice and trade secrets to success, so mentorships are critical for start-ups. Mentorship is not competition“.

Chief Programmes Manager, Joyce Owusu-Dabo reveals the initiative will help the women build the can-do attitude.

She said the training will build the capacity of the women so that they are able to manage their businesses to have the required skills.

“What we seek to ensure is that the mentors are more experience and so they are bringing their knowledge to the advantage of the mentees and build them up.

"And expect these women will learn the skills we are given to them, to invest in their business and use it to train other women in their communities," she said

Officials say it is the aim of the program to use the women as Change Agents in their communities, so as they train them, they (women) will in turn train other women in their communities.

Mrs Dabo added that the program, “seeks to ensure that the women that we serve are empowered, they have equal access to resources, and they can control their assets and have equal access to market and services. So this programme is geared towards making the woman a whole woman”.

This year’s program is also expected to empower women start-ups with the requisite skills to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the covid-19 pandemic.

“We have covid-19 as part of the training sessions; it is not about them staying healthy alone but the silver lining in covid-19.

What business opportunities does covid-19 presents itself [with] that the women can take advantage of to expand their businesses or even diversify their business geared towards increase in their profit and income, the bottom line is to enhance their livelihoods”, Mr Dabo said.

Meanwhile, officials are encouraging institutions that have the capacity to build women and help SMEs to come into the space and offer the needed support.

The program is a six-month training expected to end in September this year.