Societe Generale Ghana convened women business owners for an intimate engagement, creating a platform for direct conversations between the entrepreneurs and the bank’s senior leadership on financing, business growth, sustainability and the banking support required to scale.
The engagement forms part of the bank’s ongoing efforts to better understand and address the financing and business support challenges faced by women-led enterprises in Ghana. The session provided the entrepreneurs with an opportunity to share their experiences, highlight the challenges affecting their businesses and discuss the opportunities they see for future growth.
For Societe Generale Ghana, the conversations also provided valuable insight into how the bank can continue to make its products, services and relationship support more responsive to the realities of women-owned businesses.
In his opening remarks, the Managing Director reaffirmed the bank’s commitment to supporting Ghanaian businesses with the ambition and potential to grow, compete and create lasting value.
“Societe Generale Ghana is committed to seeing Ghanaian businesses do more than survive; they must have the opportunity to grow, compete and create lasting value. The businesses represented here demonstrate the ambition and potential within Ghana’s private sector. As a bank, our responsibility is to listen, understand what stands in your way and walk alongside you as you take your businesses to the next level,” said Hakim Ouzzani, Managing Director, Societe Generale Ghana.
The engagement also reinforced the bank’s belief that supporting women entrepreneurs requires more than access to financial products. Understanding the specific realities of their businesses, providing relevant advice and building long-term relationships are equally important to helping enterprises grow.
Company Secretary, Madam Angela Bonsu, spoke on Societe Generale Ghana’s sustainability agenda, highlighting the Group’s long-standing commitment to responsible financing. She introduced to the participants, the SG Woman offer, the bank’s proposition designed to support women-led businesses and the women driving Ghana’s entrepreneurial growth. She described the proposition as more than a banking service, but a commitment to providing women entrepreneurs with the resources and support needed to grow. Qualifying businesses can access credit facilities with little or no collateral, enjoy dedicated relationship management, free mentorship through partner programmes, and business advisory and capacity-building support through SG Home of Business.
The discussion covered the bank’s credit assessment process and financing solutions available to support businesses across different stages of growth. These included working capital facilities such as overdrafts and revolving advances, as well as invoice discounting, factoring and purchase order financing. Longer-term solutions discussed included term loans, finance leases and green financing for sustainable investments such as solar energy and electric vehicles. Participants were also encouraged to consider financing options that align with their business cash-flow cycles to support efficient growth.
The session also highlighted the bank’s Privilege Banking product, which extends beyond business banking to address the personal financial needs of business owners, including mortgage solutions and home insurance.
An open discussion provided participants with the opportunity to have their questions addressed by the senior management of the bank. Participants also shared positive experiences of their relationship with Societe Generale Ghana and the role the bank has played in supporting their business growth.
In her closing remarks Mrs. Catherine Johnson, Deputy Managing Director -Commercial, of Societe Generale Ghana said, “These conversations matter because they allow us to hear directly from the women building businesses across Ghana. Their experiences give us a clearer understanding of what they need from their bank, and we will use that insight to continue improving the way we support them, from financing to relationship management and beyond,”
The engagement reflects Societe Generale Ghana’s broader ambition to move beyond transactional banking and build deeper, long-term partnerships with the businesses shaping Ghana’s economy. Through continued dialogue with entrepreneurs, the bank aims to strengthen the relevance of its financial solutions and support businesses as they pursue sustainable growth.
Societe Generale Ghana Plc
Societe Generale Ghana is one of the leading banks in Ghana with 40-networked branches and outlets across the country. The Bank provides Retail and Corporate clients with dedicated innovative products and services aimed at satisfying and anticipating customers' needs.
The Bank is recognized for supporting individuals and businesses of various sizes and backgrounds to achieve their full potential. The Bank is the foremost innovator in the Banking industry spearheading key reforms such as Factoring, Finance Lease, Cash Management, Foreign Exchange Hedging, Consumer Credit Loan and Bill Payments to meet its customers’ needs.
For more information, you can visit our website www.societegenerale.com.gh or any of our Branches or call our Contact Centre on 0302 214 314 or Facebook at www.facebook.com/societegeneralegh or email
Societe Generale
Societe Generale Societe Generale is a top tier European Bank with around 119,000 employees serving more than 26 million clients in 62 countries across the world. We have been supporting the development of our economies for 160 years, providing our corporate, institutional, and individual clients with a wide array of value added advisory and financial solutions. Our long-lasting and trusted relationships with the clients, our cutting edge expertise, our unique innovation, our ESG capabilities and leading franchises are part of our DNA and serve our most essential objective - to deliver sustainable value creation for all our stakeholders.
The Group runs three complementary sets of businesses, embedding ESG offerings for all its clients:
• French Retail, Private Banking and Insurance, with leading retail bank SG and insurance franchise, premium private banking services, and the leading digital bank BoursoBank.
• Global Banking and Investor Solutions, a top tier wholesale bank offering tailored-made solutions with
distinctive global leadership in equity derivatives, structured finance and ESG.
• Mobility, International Retail Banking and Financial Services, comprising well-established universal banks (in Czech Republic, Romania and several African countries), Ayvens (the new ALD I LeasePlan brand), a global player in sustainable mobility, as well as specialized financing activities.
Committed to building together with its clients a better and sustainable future, Societe Generale aims to be a leading partner in the environmental transition and sustainability overall. The Group is included in the principal socially responsible investment indices: DJSI (Europe), FTSE4Good (Global and Europe), Bloomberg GenderEquality Index, Refinitiv Diversity and Inclusion Index, Euronext Vigeo (Europe and Eurozone), STOXX Global ESG Leaders indexes, and the MSCI Low Carbon Leaders Index (World and Europe).
For more information, you can follow us on Twitter/X @societegenerale or visit our website societegenerale.com
Press Contacts:
SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA
DANIELLA ASARE-ADU
+233 (0) 302 20 86 00 EXT 2501
SOCIETE GENERALE GHANA
MARKETING,COMMUNICATION & QUALITY
P. O. BOX 13119, ACCRA, GHANA.
www.societegenerale.com.gh
