PROJECT-SUPPORT GHANA

Country / Region

Ghana

Ghana is located in West Africa and borders Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Togo, and the Atlantic Ocean. It has around 33 million inhabitants and an area of approximately 240’000 square kilometres. The capital is Accra, which is located on the Atlantic coast. The country is known for its stable democracy, its wealth of natural resources such as gold and cocoa, and its cultural diversity with over 70 ethnic groups.

The Swisshand programmes in Ghana focus on the Volta region in the south-east of the country and on the north-eastern regions.

General

Since 1968, the Foundation Swisshand has made it its mission to give women in rural areas in Africa (Uganda, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria) the opportunity to strengthen their economic independence and sustainably improve their living conditions by means of microcredits.

The loans provided enable women to turn small business ideas into reality - whether in agriculture, trade, or crafts. The results speak for themselves: the repayment rate is an impressive 95% within the specified term, which not only proves the reliability of the borrowers, but also underlines the long-term impact of the programme. Every amount repaid is re-lent, creating a sustainable form of self-help.

The foundation collaborates with local partner organisations that recruit potential candidates, provide training on running a small business, mentor the women, and monitor the activities.

Beneficiaries

The impact of the programmes can be seen in the improvement in the quality of life of women and their families. The microloans offer them a long-term way out of poverty. As they earn a regular income, their children go to school, medical care can be paid for, and domestic violence is reduced. The women's self-confidence and their standing in the community increase, and they set a positive and motivating example for others.

More than 20’000 women from the poorest regions of Africa achieve this every year by seizing the opportunity offered to them by the Foundation Swisshand. Entrepreneurial training, a microloan and accompanying counselling enable them to become entrepreneurs.

Project-support

Project Ghana: Expanding the provision of microloans

PROMIC (PROgramm for MICrofinance)
In a first step, interested parties are trained in groups or as an entire village community in the management (development and expansion) of a small business. Thereafter, a small loan of around USD 100 - 250 is granted to qualified female borrowers, after a business idea and business plan have been submitted. The plausibility and expected profitability of the business idea is reviewed together.  

The women entrepreneurs receive close professional support, counselling, and advice during the business development phase and for the duration of the loan. The women also meet regularly within their group. Within the deadline, 95% of the loans are repaid in full, and the business will be continued independently by the initiator.

Thanks to careful management, multiple utilisation and accumulation of capital is possible, which allows the Foundation Swisshand to help more local families out of poverty and to use every franc several times over. Thanks to volunteer work, donations received are primarily used locally.

The people supported very often run small businesses, such as trading in food and drink, running cookshops, brewing beer, or trading in (second-hand) shoes and clothes. In agriculture, the microloans are used to increase the area under cultivation and to purchase seeds and fertilisers. Small farmers are trained by government experts in improving soil cultivation, which leads to higher yields of rice, maize, and vegetables.