Women entrepreneurs in Ghana are being urged to invest in business networks and digital skills as core strategies for scaling their enterprises and creating jobs. The Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) emphasized this message at its annual Ghana Industrial Summit and Exhibition in September 2026, where a dedicated Women in Business Session brought together female business owners, government officials, and financial institutions to address barriers and opportunities in women-led enterprises.
The summit highlighted a critical gap: training alone cannot build sustainable businesses. Women entrepreneurs need to connect their acquired skills with access to production resources, financing, technology, and markets. This integrated approach requires deliberate networking and partnership-building alongside formal skill development.
Networking and Practical Support
Seth Twum-Akwaboah, Chief Executive Officer of AGI, stated that networking provides entrepreneurs with access to information, knowledge, partnerships, and opportunities essential for business growth. The AGI has partnered with the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) to deliver bookkeeping training for members in Tamale, Sunyani, Kumasi, and Takoradi. This training equips women with financial management skills needed to access various forms of business financing.
Beyond training, the AGI plans to launch a Job Matching Platform developed by Ubuntu Technologies, supported by the Mastercard Foundation and the Ministry of Youth. The platform will contain a database of approximately 10,000 companies and connect job seekers with employment opportunities, expanding women’s access to formal work and supply chain partnerships.
Connecting Skills to Markets
Joyce Ababio, Founder of Joyce Ababio College of Creative Design and Chairperson of Women in Business, emphasized that entrepreneurs must build stronger connections between skills development, production, finance, technology, and markets. Training programs create capability, but without pathways to customers, financing, and technology partners, that capability cannot generate revenue or growth.
MASLOC affirmed its commitment to supporting women entrepreneurs who cannot meet requirements of mainstream financial institutions. The organization helps entrepreneurs start at smaller scales, then supports formalization and business growth. This staged approach recognizes that many women begin with limited collateral and credit histories.
The Missing Link Between Skills and Scale
The summit brought together government agencies, trade institutions, financial entities, technology companies, and investors to address this core challenge. Women entrepreneurs often acquire technical and business skills but lack systematic access to the networks, capital, and market connections needed to scale. The AGI’s approach, pairing training with formal platforms, partnerships, and financing access, aims to close that gap.
The three-day event signaled a shift in how Ghana’s business establishment views women’s economic participation. Rather than treating women entrepreneurs as a separate segment, the summit positioned them as central to the nation’s industrial transformation and job creation agenda. What remains unclear is how quickly these new platforms and partnerships will reach women operating outside major urban centers.
Frequently asked questions
Why is networking important for women entrepreneurs?
Networking provides access to information, knowledge, partnerships, and opportunities that contribute directly to business growth and sustainability.
What is the AGI Job Matching Platform?
A platform developed with Mastercard Foundation support containing a database of 10,000 companies that connects job seekers and entrepreneurs with employment and partnership opportunities.
What training is available to women entrepreneurs in Ghana?
MASLOC offers bookkeeping training in Tamale, Sunyani, Kumasi, and Takoradi to help entrepreneurs develop financial management skills for accessing business financing.
Why is training alone insufficient for women entrepreneurs?
Training creates capability, but without connections to markets, financing, technology partners, and production resources, women cannot convert skills into revenue and growth.
