Eastern Region NetWET inaugurated

The Vocational Training for Females (VTF) programme has inaugurated the Network of Women Entrepreneurs (NETWET) in the Eastern Region to boost women-led enterprises.

Over 200 women in the vocational sector comprising fashion designers, cosmologists, caterers, formulators, bead makers and other trades were formally received into the membership of NETWET.

NETWET is a group of skilled professionals formed under the auspices of the VTF programme, a not-for-profit organisation, some 10 years ago.

The ultimate aim of VTF is to become the voice that articulates women’s employment issues and advocates for an enabling environment to promote women-led businesses in the informal sector.

The Director of the VTF programme, Linda Agyei, noted that the role of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) in developing countries like Ghana could not be over-emphasised, as these small-scale enterprises had been recognised as the potential sources of employment and engines through which the rapid industrialisation and other developmental goals of developing countries could be realised.

She said it was against this background that the NETWET was established to offer demand-driven interventions that addressed challenges that women entrepreneurs faced in their businesses and quest to succeed.

Remain resolute

Ms Agyei urged the members of the network to remain resolute so that together they could overcome the barriers which hindered small-scale businesses in the informal sector from growing and also advised them to learn from each other as a support base.

The Dean of the Faculty of Development Studies at the Presbyterian University, Ghana, Rev. Prof. B. I. Adu-Okoree, admonished the members to take advantage of every opportunity to upgrade their skills and knowledge to be abreast with the changes in the industry.

Speaking on the theme: “The Empowered Woman – A Catalyst for National Development”, he said that empowered women had control over their lives, economically, socially and politically and were capable of making decisions that affected their well-being.

The Chairperson for the occasion, Comfort Asante, urged the members to uphold the importance of the network as offering opportunities for business growth through experience sharing and skills upgrades.

She charged them to set good examples as role models and employ innovative ways of improving their work.

The interim National President of NETWET, Diana Appiah, encouraged the leadership and members to eschew bitterness and focus on their quest to remove the constraints and barriers preventing women from rising to the top.

Comfort Akrofi-Yanney, a Fashion Designer and member of the VTF Board, tasked the members not to relent in their efforts to embrace all odds to make it to the top.