Kotoku Market women trained in financial literacy
The Lady Margaret Foundation (LMF), a social transformation-oriented organisation has held a financial literacy workshop for Kotoku Market women at Medie in the Amasaman Municipality of the Greater Accra Region.
The financial literacy workshop was held in collaboration with the Ga Rural Bank and aimed to educate and empower women traders, aligning with the foundation's mission to strengthen women and transform communities.
It was held to commemorate the International Women's Day 2025 with the market women who traded mainly in buying and selling onions.
Attendees were made up of 200 market women from the Kotoku Market and they were taken through key topics such as application for loans and loan repayment, investment opportunities and financial savings.
Rationale and Opportunities
Speaking at the event, the Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the LMF, Margaret Davids Opoku-Agyeman said the initiative demonstrated the foundation’s commitment to promoting economic empowerment and social equality for women.
She said, “By providing financial literacy training and support, the foundation aims to accelerate action toward achieving gender equality and promoting sustainable development”.
She urged the market women to be proactive in seeking opportunities that can enhance their businesses and livelihoods.
“Don’t wait for opportunities to come to you; go out and seize them. Be determined, focused and persevering and you will achieve success. Make it a point to be the leading supporter of your daughters, especially in pursuing their dreams and achieving them,” she said.
The LMF Project Manager, Jeffrey Newton expressed gratitude to the market women for embracing the programme and urged them to put into practice the lessons learnt to promote and improve their businesses.
He affirmed that the world was fast changing, hence the need for the market women to also learn new ways of trading, especially in their engagement with customers and packaging of their goods to attract customers.
Savings
The Head of Operations of the Ga Rural Bank Plc, Patrick Gyan-Mensah, who led the session, emphasised the benefits of saving and providing guidance on navigating the loan application process.
He also warned the women about potential scams and impersonators claiming to represent the bank, urging the market women not to be afraid to visit the bank for loans and to save, which is more secure.
Mr Gyan added that the bank had an interesting banking policy with flexible terms for market women to take advantage of to expand their businesses, calling on them to visit the bank for these policies.
Appeal
Madam Kande Addawo, an onion trader, seized the opportunity to appeal to the government to construct the roads leading to the market to facilitate the transportation of their goods.
She added that the challenges posed by poor roads, which restricted access to their market, also impacted their livelihoods, health and security in the area.
