The Essikado-Ketan Constituency National Democratic Congress, (NDC) Parliamentary Candidate in the Western Region, Prof. Grace Ayensu-Danquah, has begun the “Obaatanpa” Micro-Finance Credit Scheme for traders in the area.
This was part of her avowed commitment to empowering women through poverty alleviation.
The “Obaatanpa” credit scheme which started in 2020 and currently ongoing has already benefitted several traders, market women and fisherfolks.
The credit scheme is expected to benefit over 50,000 women in the constituency involved in all forms of petty trading, farming and fishmongers to help them to expand their businesses within the Essikado-Ketan Constituency.
Prof. Ayensu-Danquah, who was the 2020 NDC Parliamentary Candidate for the area, told the media that the gesture was borne out of her desire to cushion women in petty trading as part of her policy to support and boost small and medium scale businesses and empower them.
She said as women contributed to the smooth running of the home, they ought to be empowered to be self-sufficient and contribute meaningfully to the development in society.
Prof. Ayensu Danquah said a money lending institution had been engaged to offers micro loans to the traders, adding that under the project start-up capital would be given to the traders according to the nature of their businesses in the coming months.
The Parliamentary Candidate said the credit scheme was opened to all traders in the constituency irrespective of their party affiliations and their interest free loans would help alleviate poverty and boost the economic status of women in the constituency.
Prof. Ayensu-Danquah expressed the hope the project would be more viable and permanent in her quest to revolutionalise small scale businesses for the well-being of women in the area.
She appealed to women in the Essikado-Ketan constituency to vote massively for her and the NDC on December 7 to enable her utilise the Common Fund to initiate more projects for them.
The traders expressed their profound gratitude for making the welfare of women high on the development agenda and pledged their support for more of such interventions.
