Despite the more than 3,500 miles that separate Ghana and Pakistan, two GOPA Group companies are fostering women’s entrepreneurship in the health and agribusiness sectors in both countries through multi sector engagement and customized training programs.

In Ghana, 38% of micro, small and medium enterprises are female-owned, one of the highest proportions in the world according to the 2021 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs. In Pakistan, the situation is quite different, with only 1% of women being entrepreneurs, compared to 21% of men. In both countries however, limited access to financing, training, and resources pose significant challenges for women wanting or needing to start a business.

GOPA Consulting Group is among the many companies and organizations working to bridge this gap by providing tailored support and training programs to help women succeed in their entrepreneurial endeavors. Through initiatives like the Access Bank Womenpreneur Pitch-A-Ton Competition in Ghana and the Self-Employment of Women (SEW) in the Private Health Sector project in Pakistan, women are gaining access to the necessary resources and skills to build sustainable businesses in sectors vital to their countries' economic development.

Caption: Winners of the Access Bank Ghana pitch-a-ton 2023 presented with a seed fund to boost their working capital (Credit: Access Bank Ghana Plc.)

In Ghana, GOPA AFC helped implement the Access Bank Womenpreneurs Pitch-A-Ton Competition which culminated in the 50 women entrepreneur participants of the Business Management Bootcamp pitching their companies at Access Bank Ghana Headquarters in January 2024. Pitches primarily comprised agribusiness ventures, the most impressive of which  received cash and in-kind prizes to further support their development. This year marks the second time that GOPA AFC has helped implement this program, supporting Access Bank in the provision of over $23,000 USD in grants and prizes to over 100 Ghanaian women business owners.

Caption: Newly Constructed Dhanak Clinic in Jhelum District (credit: DKT International)

In Pakistan, GOPA Worldwide Consultants is helping implement the SEW project financed by the German Financial Cooperation, KfW. The project will provide unemployed community midwives and women’s health workers with opportunities to own and run 400 private clinics, helping fill an important employment gap while providing much-needed reproductive health and family planning services in two provinces in Northern Pakistan.

In addition to promoting access to finance and resources, both projects seek to go beyond empowering women and towards an action-oriented activation of their economic endeavors through highly targeted capacity-building. In Pakistan, GOPA Worldwide Consultants drew from international best practices in healthcare supervision, mentoring, and coaching to build e-learning modules aimed at improving the provision of women's health services, streamlining clinic operations, and building entrepreneurial skills. In Ghana, the GOPA AFC team working for the GIZ-funded AgriBiz program developed a four-week bootcamp that drew from various types of learning approaches to train participants in business skills ranging from supply chain management to record keeping, and from digital marketing to staff management.

Alongside financial and in-kind support, the trainings provided by GOPA AFC and GOPA Worldwide Consultants will not only allow participants to successfully start up or run their businesses, but will help ensure the long-term success of their endeavors and of the rest of their careers. In doing so, these efforts help improve women's financial independence and agency to drive more inclusive and equitable economic growth.