This will mean that the plight of the poor and vulnerable could worsen unless timely policy interventions are adopted to help prevent a complete reversal of the gains that have been achieved in poverty reduction and financial inclusion in the developing world, Dr Addison said.
Speaking during a webinar organized by the Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) and the BOG on the theme “Integrating Gender Considerations Into Covid-19 Policy Solutions” he said there is a global consensus that the pre-COVID 19 economic order was skewed against women.
“The World Bank’s 2017 Global Findex Survey reported that of the 1.7 billion of unbanked adults globally, 56 percent are women, and in developing economies like Ghana, women remain 9 percentage points more likely to be unbanked than men. In sub-Saharan Africa, only 37 percent of women have a bank account, compared with 48 percent of men, a gap that has only widened over the past several years."
“Without access to critical funding, women-owned businesses suffer, and struggle to create the scale that is needed to connect to global value chains and become economically significant. The UN FAO estimates that the contributions of African women to economic activities on the continent are considerable, albeit mostly informal.
“Women in Africa are responsible for 70% of crop production, 50% of animal husbandry and 60% of market activity. Women undertake nearly 100% of food processing activities, in addition to child care and other responsibilities in households. Women’s formal ownership of SMEs currently stands at around a third of all registered SMEs in Africa, and women-owned SMEs are more likely to have lower sales and annual turnover, less employees, and smaller size than those enterprises owned by men.
“A March 2020 African Development Bank study also confirms that female entrepreneurs dominate key growth sectors such as agriculture, textile and garments and yet lack access to critical funding. These statistics tell a story that is troubling particularly in the context of the new economic realities that the pandemic has unleashed on the developing world.
“To reduce the burden of the pandemic on Ghana’s economy and in particular on small businesses and low-income households, the Government and Bank of Ghana instituted certain measures. The Government’s support package included a small loan facility to MSMEs to the tune of Ghc 600 million (appx US$ 100 million), a Ghc 100 billion (appx 18 billion) CARES programme to expedite economic recovery and the absorption of water and electricity bills for a few months.” Read Full Story
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