Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa has announced that Canada has pledged support for the creation of a Women’s Development Bank in Ghana.
The pledge was made during discussions between Mr Ablakwa and Canada’s Secretary of State for International Development, Randeep Sarai.
Mr Ablakwa described Mr Sarai as a great friend of Ghana, citing his conscious decision to make Ghana the first country he visited last year, immediately after his appointment.
In a post on X, Mr Ablakwa said: “Our fruitful engagement has led to concrete deliverables as follows: Ghana and Canada will create a partnership for labour mobility and skills empowerment for the youth in areas such as digital literacy, standardized certification for global jobs, energy transition and TVET; Ghana and Canada will enhance our collaboration at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre to enable the prestigious Ghanaian institution [to] offer more in promoting regional stability and counterterrorism;
“Canada will offer technical support for the establishment of Ghana’s Women’s Development Bank; Ghana and Canada have agreed to cooperate in modern environmental protection and reclamation as we promote legal and sustainable mining practices; Ghana and Canada will coordinate a broader Africa-Canada dialogue next year to align and curate shared development priorities as Africa seeks rapid transformation through trade, industrialization, railway development, value addition and not aid.”
He added: “We reaffirm our buoyant Ghana-Canada relations.”
The Women’s Development Bank is a flagship government initiative aimed at expanding access to affordable financing for women-owned businesses.
The institution is expected to help bridge the longstanding credit gap facing women entrepreneurs while supporting enterprises in sectors including trade, agriculture, technology, and the informal economy.
SOURCE: 3news.com