Please describe the goal of your initiative; outline what you are trying to achieve
This Project seeks to promote growth and reduce poverty in Ghana amongst rural women, broadening financial mediation in the informal sector by strengthening operational linkages between women and Formal Institutions and Rural Community Banks and building their capacities. The components will focus on strengthening rural women's operational effectiveness; logistics finance technical assistance needed to implement and providing support to the women
Which barrier(s) to financial inclusion does your solution seek to address? (select all applicable)
Physical and other accessibility obstacles that prevent communities from reaching financial services, The lack of affordable financial products tailored to the needs of underserved and excluded communities,, Powerful incentives for financial service providers to move up-market.
If you selected 'other' above, please specify which other barriers to financial inclusion you solution seeks to address:
For which underserved or excluded communities will your solution create access to valuable, affordable, secure and comprehensive financial services?
TO ALL RURAL COMMUNITIES IN ALL TEN REGIONS IN GHANA
Could your solution work in other geographies or regions? If so, where?
Yes my solution can work in other geographies or regions because The plausibility of these assumptions is largely borne out by empirical evidence of the positive effects of Lending/Credits on the livelihood of poor women especially in Africa
• A study from Ghana confirms improvements in women’s physical mobility, economic security, ability to make own purchases, freedom from family, domination and violence, political and legal awareness and public participation as a result of a more stable integration into micro finance circuits
Credit to women has positive effects on the schooling of girls, it increases women’s asset holdings and is a significant determinant of total household expenditure
Enhanced women’s empowerment such as increased self-confidence and better cooperation with neighbours has also been observed in Thailand
If your solution is dramatically successful, how will things be different in 10 years?
It seems obvious that the impact of credit services to women to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector in 10 years time will be higher when women actually control the financial resources acquired in their name. Increased control is likely
• To contribute to women’s empowerment
• To facilitate women’s entrepreneurship
• To assist women in their reproductive tasks
• To ease their repayment burden
What will have had to have changed to make this happen?
A “more efficient and continuous supply of financial services that allow women micro entrepreneurs to take advantage of economic opportunities stressing institutional viability
• reducing cost due to increased efficiency in financial technologies
• emphasizing market knowledge which lead to better knowledge of customers characteristics and financial technologies
• using concepts of micro finance which over both the enterprise and household sphere
What has been the impact of your solution to date?
I will seek to strategically position women to access opportunities and ensures women organizations and networks will become aware of their roles and responsibility better and also work for the realization of goals of the various associations and individual aspirations of their members
The women will acquire skills to enhance their capacity to lobby and network on behalf their members
The women will also acquire skills to enhance their capacity to lobby and network on behalf their member sector and enhance the growth of their institution.
What is your projected impact over the next five years?
It is widely assumed that Credit or Lending will have a positive impact on women’s livelihoods in leading to higher income that will help women to better perform their reproductive role as
• brokers of health, nutritional and educational status of other household members
• increasing women’s employment in micro enterprises and in improving the productivity of women’s income-generating activities
• enhancing their self-confidence and status within the family as independent producers and providers of valuable ash resources to the household economy
What barriers might hinder the success of your project? How do you plan to overcome them?
Small enterprises in Ghana typically cite lack of access to finance as an important constraint on their operation. This lack of access is often associated with financial policies and bank practices that make it hard for banks to cover the high costs and risks involved in lending to women entrepreneurs in the informal sector.
I plan to encourage banks and make efforts to lobby with banks to improve the incentives and skills of bank staff in dealing with small clients and to make the credit line available. Substantial widening of access to credit by small enterprises is most likely to come from new banks that are tailoring their operations to develop new, smaller clients
Winning entries present a strong plan for how they will achieve and track growth. Identify your six-month milestone for growing your impact
Now think bigger! Identify your 12-month impact milestone
