WhatsApp-preneur

By Akwasi Sarpong

‘I am online always, operating 24 hour business on WhatsApp, as my source of livelihood and income generating venture since 2022, says Afya; a woman entrepreneur on WhatsApp in Ghana’.

WhatsApp-Preneur, is a term I have coined to represent a significant number of online businesses in Ghana on social media platforms, without physical structure offline.

As I reflect on a major shift in the right to work (enshrined in the International Bill of Rights UDHR Article 23, ICESCR Articles 6(1) & Article 7, and Article 15 of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and 1992 Constitution fundamental rights in Ghana), online by emerging digital technologies in Ghana.

The challenge of the unemployed hit me in the face, yet it reveals enormous opportunities offered by digital products and technologies such as WhatsApp for Ghana’s entrepreneurs. In that, individuals on other social media platforms return to WhatsApp to complete a business transaction started on another. WhatsApp has become an easy to use and convenient interface for entrepreneurs and their customers online. A case example of Afya’s online shop via WhatsApp (image of her on shop WhatsApp attached, with her permission).

WhatsApp is a new game- changer opportunity and workplace for many women in particular, who are self-employed and working remotely, with majority living in the urban and limited rural participation. This supports the overall objective of the National Employment Policy; ‘to create gainful and decent employment opportunities for the growing Labour force‘. It also shows the urgent need to close the digital divide between rural and urban, in accessing internet as digital right in Ghana.

Without a social media platform like WhatsApp, the 1.5million women entrepreneurs in Ghana using WhatsApp for business purposes, would have been left behind and still unemployed, as estimated by Ulti-Leaf Foundation’s field engagements in 2023; social media and use of mobile phone in Ghana.

These women across the 16 regions are using the platform for legitimate trading, services, reaching borders beyond Ghana with innovative products (made in-Ghana) and marketing. For example, in less than 24 hours on 14th November, 2025, through Afya’s WhatsApp shop, I was able to purchase and received (hard copies) of two new books launched on 14th November, 2025 in Accra, when I was in Kumasi.

The overall contributions of women businesses online via WhatsApp have been instrumental in the last decade to the economic empowerment of women, achieving the Sustainable Development Goal 8(Decent Work), poverty reduction among women and increasing digital inclusion among others. On daily basis, it creates jobs for women that are yet to be quantified into the national labor force data or the market information system on jobs in Ghana.

I envisage WhatsApp could contribute positively to the government agenda of ‘24-Hour Economy‘; based on multi-stakeholder consultation to develop a stimulus package on data usage, data protection, online protection and safety nets for women entrepreneurs. This will increase women economic participation on digital platforms and close the protection gaps on social media platforms for women entrepreneurs in Ghana.

Worthy to note that, ‘the digital environment is one area where human rights are exercise‘ in Ghana. For example, the right to work, safety and security online by women entrepreneurs on WhatsApp or on other social media platforms, is an automatic human right issue. And that ‘human rights are the essentials we rely on every day‘ online in Ghana. However, there are challenges, namely online hacking, data harvesting, unfair algorithmic discrimination against women online, GenAI training on artworks or creatives works posted online with no permission. Also, there is no legal definition for digital rights and framework to assess digital products, no mitigation measures in Ghana’s Employment Policy, on risks by digital technologies to decent work.

Indeed, the opportunities by digital technologies, also comes with challenges to users and to regulatory environment, legal provisions, national policy and frameworks available to protect, respect and remedy the right of women entrepreneurs online.

The challenge of workers online who are self-employed includes restrictions on the rights to create union and association against increasing precarious nature of generative AI. For example, there’s no union or association for businesses like Afya’s WhatsApp shop , on how seek to help and handle the frequency of online hacking, data harvesting and unfair algorithmic discrimination against online marketing. There are no social protection safety nets for such businesses against any pandemic, disasters and external attacks.

Also, the use of blockchain technology and chatbots to interact as well as hack mobile device (smartphone) online by users with no or little awareness on the risks posed by digital technologies, have become a daily unsolved challenge for women businesses on social media platforms in Ghana. For example, often mobile devices are hacked, and SIM number registered previously are blocked by the social media platform for violation of Terms and Conditions, due to no fault of the original online business operator. Sometimes, these women are forced to pay monies to these online hackers to have their account released to them, when the social media platform is unable or fails to help.

It must be said that, most of these women lacked the know-how behind these digital technology platforms such as setting the appropriate end to end encryption, two way verifying systems and avoiding scams calls among others.

One thing is certain, digital technologies are here to stay and so the challenges are potentials for greater empowerment and innovation. As we celebrate 2025 Human Rights Day on 10th December in Ghana and globally, with these strategic actions as  I have outlined below, the risks of emerging technologies can be mitigated and tradeoffs achieved;

• The Parliamentary Select Committees on Legislation, Social Protection, and Communications, should define Digital Rights, with scope and measures into law to safeguard human rights online. For example, right to digital citizenship, digital identity, right to be forgotten online, right not to be subjected to automated decision making by AI.
• National Development and Planning Commission should set digital rights, digital technologies on human rights and human development as standalone national indicator as part of the national medium term development policy ongoing, into Agenda for Jobs III. This should be mainstreamed across all sectors.
• The National Cyber Security Authority must adopt Human Right Due Diligence framework in the assessment of digital platforms and approval, in collaboration with the Data Protection Agency, along the product life cycle of digital public goods.
• Reviewing the National Employment Policy by the Tripartite Committee (Government, Employers Association, Trade Union Congress) and relevant stakeholders such as ILO, UN Women, UNESCO, The World Bank, ITU should set up a special social protection scheme for the 1.5 million women entrepreneurs using WhatsApp as business and organize them into a union. A targeted training for women on safety and security for online business should be roll out.
• Adding, an independent AI Ethic Officer along the entire life cycle of AI system for human rights online within business technology industry and enforced by CSA to sustain the gains and tradeoffs achieved. With a Network of Independent AI Ethics Officers, birth out of the Ghana AI Practitioners Guide (GAIPG, 2025)  by the Responsible AI Office (RAI Office) , according to the National AI Strategy (2023-2033)
• The review of the National Domestic Violence Policy must include action plan on digital rights and digital abuse online against women and girls in Ghana. To address and mitigate risk that comes with GenAI related to gender based violence online.

Today, digital technologies evolve quickly online, and it reshapes traditional human rights and digital regulation, Ghana is not an exception. These actions are attainable when stakeholders work together as partners-in-action, to protect human rights online, and become agile on promoting ethical behaviors daily, whiles addressing risks associated with GenAI and digital technologies in Ghana. And through agile regulation in place, it will enable stakeholders to keep pace with the risks, digital products, services and human rights online in Ghana. This allows for iterative approaches rather than one-size-fits-all forever standards.

Our everyday essential is to keep women in business online safe and striving, as well increase online economic participation by women entrepreneurs like Afya’s 24 hour online business; my WhatsApp-Preneur.

Akwasi Sarpong is the Executive Director–Ulti-Leaf Foundation)

X: @SarpongAkwasi1   Email: [email protected] Tel: 233-547470123/243833966

 

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