The Director of Enterprise Business and Wholesale at Telecel Ghana, Tawa Bolarin has reinforced the relevance of strengthening women-led businesses and the critical role of strategic partnerships in advancing their growth.

She highlighted the ongoing collaboration between Telecel and Absa through Telecel Ghana’s industry-first Women in Business initiative, which seeks to address the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs.

Tawa was speaking at the launch of Absa Bank Ghana’s ‘She Business’, a revamp of their banking proposition to support female entrepreneurs with substantial collateral-free loans.

“I am delighted to celebrate the launch of Absa’s ‘She Business’ and speak about the incredible work we are doing together to transform women-led businesses.

"This will collectively ensure the growth and sustainability of small and medium-scale enterprises run by women,” she said.

Absa’s ‘She Business’ product offers collateral-free loans of up to GHc2 million at 10 per cent interest rate per annum to eligible female entrepreneurs.

The initiative forms part of the bank’s broader effort to help close Ghana’s estimated $6.1 billion micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) credit gap.

Dr. Edward Nartey Botchway, Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, said ‘She Business’ “is a statement of our intent to help women entrepreneurs take advantage of real business opportunities. For us, it is a compelling opportunity to implement a system that helps MSMEs thrive.”

Director of SME Banking and Partnerships at Absa Bank, Audrey Abakah said the ‘She Business’ proposition is an evolution of the bank’s existing support for the growing financial needs of women entrepreneurs.

“Our approach is based on what women told us they value most: practical support, affordable credit, and a bank that sees their potential and stands with them at every stage of growth. ‘She Business’ is designed to deliver on all those needs,” Audrey explained.

The event convened Absa Bank Ghana’s leadership, women business owners, corporate leaders, and policymakers, with representatives from Mastercard Foundation, Hollard Ghana, DHL Group, Ghana Export Promotion Authority, and Development Bank Ghana.

Explaining the specific benefits of the six growth pillars underpinning the telecommunications giant’s Women in Business package namely - Empower, Assure, Accelerate, Reach, Engage and Reward, Tawa urged women entrepreneurs to seize the opportunities presented by both Absa Bank’s She Business and Telecel’s Women in Business package to transform their businesses.

“I encourage all women entrepreneurs to take full advantage of the Absa ‘She Business’ account and the Telecel Women in Business package to ensure the growth and scalability of their enterprises.

"We are committed to creating an ecosystem that allows women in business to thrive and reach their fullest potential."

Telecel Women in Business initiative offers a comprehensive suite of tailored resources, services, and events that address the unique needs of women-led small to medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) including access to collateral-free loans, health and life insurance package, digital marketing support, access to knowledge and insights platform, as well as networking and reward programmes.