1,200 Women trained in shea value chain industry

The Samira Empowerment and Humanitarian Projects (SEHP) has trained 1,200 women in the shea value chain industry, with best practices in shea picking.

This is part of the first phase of the Shea Empowerment Initiative (SEI) in the northern part of the country.

The SEI project is being undertaking by SEHP in partnership with Ghana EXIM Bank (GEXIM), under its Grassroot Initiative Development (GRID), designed to boost rural economies.

It is a livelihood empowerment programme meant to equip women in the shea value chain industry with best practices in shea picking and processing.

The first phase of the training focused on the safe picking of shea nuts, and effective quality shea kernel production.

The trainees, who are shea pickers who depend on the trade as a source of livelihood, were drawn from the Wa, Gushegu, West Mamprusi and Kassena Nankana municipalities in the Upper West, Northern, North East and Upper East regions respectively.

Safety and protective gears

Each trainee received safety and protective gears comprising; headlamps, hand gloves, and wellington boots to enable them safely pick the nuts.

They also received head pans to help ease the collection of the nuts.

The second phase of the project will include the training 400 shea processors and the commissioning of four shea processing factories.

The Head of Business Development and Projects at EXIM Bank, Ghana (GEXIM), Mr Bright Evans Darko, commended Mrs Samira Bawumia, for coming up with the project to provide sustainable livelihood support for beneficiary women in the shea value chain industry.

He stated that GEXIM would continue to support local initiatives that increased cross border trade and Ghana’s foreign direct investment.

SEHP is a not-for-profit organisation that has provided critical and timely interventions in the areas of health, education and women empowerment.