Tigo Ghana is partnering with EB Accion, The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, and the USAID in a ground-breaking mobile money project that will empower hundreds of women in Ghana. Under the program, participating women would have the opportunity to increase their earnings by becoming Tigo Cash agents and have access to loans and hands-on business and financial literacy training to help them expand their businesses. A statement from Tigo said selected women with small businesses will receive micro loans from EB Accion to kick start their Tigo Cash business, and they will become part of an elite network of Tigo Cash Agents, who will earn special commissions and generous bonuses when they meet set targets. “Women selected to participate in the program will also receive a best-in-class training course on small business management, effective customer care, costing and pricing and sales skills,” it said. The move to support women to become Tigo Cash agents is based on a research carried out by the Cherie Blair Foundation in 14 countries, including Ghana, Tanzania and Rwanda in November 2011, which indicated that a large proportion of women involved in mobile money business are largely limited to low-end positions that do not yield high revenue. On the basis of that research, Cherie Blair concluded that lifting women to the high-end of the mobile money business would help women provide additional income for their households and also help the telcos to significantly enhance their brands and access to new markets. Go To Market Manager for Tigo Mobile Financial Services, Kwasi Donkor said: "We strongly believe that women are crucial components of our retail agents channel and so we recognize the importance of encouraging them to become part of our business. We are really pleased to be able to offer women nationwide this revenue-generating opportunity and the access to capital and skills training that can make their business fly; it's a great chance for us to give back to the community as our business grows". Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) for Tigo Ghana, Deborah Akakpo expressed the hope that empowering the women financially will have a multiplier effect and benefit their families. Tigo Cash has become a recognized market leader for Mobile Money services in Ghana, winning the Kalahari Award for "Best Mobile Money Product in West Africa" this year.