Plan International Ghana’s WISE project benefits 14,123 women

A project dubbed Women’s Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises (WISE), which benefitted 14,123 women directly, has come to an end.

Implemented by Plan International Ghana as one of four projects under the Global Affairs Canada’s Innovation for Women's Economic Empowerment in Ghana (IWEEG) initiative, the project was implemented in the Northern, Bono, Bono East and Ahafo regions and was aimed at increased realisation of rights to economic empowerment, well-being and inclusive economic growth for women.

The five-year project directly targeted 12,641 women aged 19 to 55 with 4,046 women to receive agriculture and green business support and indirectly targeted 156,609 people of which 86 per cent were females.

The project had two local partners, Urbanet GH and the Women Integrated Development Organisation (WIDO), as well as other partners from the private and government sectors and 11 Women Rights Organisations (WROs).

At a close-out ceremony in Accra, the Country Director, Plan International Ghana, Constant Tchona, said the WISE project asserted that the realisation of economic rights for women was a foundational key contributing to observed improvements in well-being, livelihoods and healthy family relationships among women, their families and their communities.

The project, he said, was another convincing example of the transformation that took place at the household level when women are supported with an enabling environment to fully participate in economic activities.

He said women’s equal access to land, affordable financial services and the realisation of their economic rights must be prioritised to achieve economic justice and equality for women, adding that investing in women’s economic empowerment sets a direct path toward gender equality, poverty eradication and inclusive economic growth. 

Gender equality matters

The Director, Ghana Programme, High Commission of Canada to Ghana, Kathleen Flynn Dapaah, in a remark, said the project was successfully implemented due to Canada’s Feminist International Assistance Policy (FIAP) as it was the fundamental underpinning all of Canada’s development work worldwide.

“We believe that gender equality matters and that the empowerment of women is central to ending poverty, promoting prosperity and ensuring peace”.

Rights and growth

The Chief Executive Officer, the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Seth Twum-Akwaboah, in a remark, also said at the heart of sustainable development lay a fundamental truth, which was that “when rights are realised, growth is inevitable”, adding that the WISE initiative had been a testament to this principle, proving that when women have access to opportunities, resources and an enabling environment, they thrive—and when they thrive, entire communities benefit.

The AGI, he said, played a crucial role in mentoring 51 selected women by guiding them through business development strategies and providing them with the necessary industry insights and networking opportunities.

At the close-out programme, some of the women who benefitted from the project testified to how WISE had transformed their lives, while others brought some of their products to sell at an exhibition.

Writer’s email:rebecca.quaicoe-duho@graphic.com.gh