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80 Ahafo women receive sewing business training

Newmont Ghana Limited in partnership with the German Development Cooperation (GIZ) has inaugurated a garment, textile and fashion training centre at Susuanso in the Tano North municipality in the Ahafo Region.

Date Created : 5/30/2022 12:00:00 AM : Story Author : Emmanuel Adu-Gyamera/Ghanadistricts.com

The centre is part of the Women Economic Resilience Programme (WERP) which is being implemented at the cost of USD 420,000. WERP is an integrated business and community support initiative being implemented by PYXERA Global, an international non-governmental organization.

In all, 80 women drawn from three areas including Ahafo North, Ahafo South and Akyem are benefiting from the programme.In Ahafo North, 30 young dressmakers selected from Yamfo, Susuanso, Terchire, Afrisipakrom and Adrobaa are part of the first batch of trainees.

They are expected to go through a six-month intensive sewing training to beef up their knowledge and skills in dressmaking. The project is aimed at empowering and sustaining women-owned micro, small, medium and informal dressmaking businesses, through technical and business management training.

The initiative is being funded by Newmont Ghana, Invest for Jobs of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.

Through the programme, the women-owned businesses will be equipped with the requisite knowledge and insights in best sewing and business development practices to grow and expand their businesses.The programme is also expected to improve the resilience of these dressmakers by introducing them to diversified business lines and access to new markets.

WERP is expected to ultimately create about 300 jobs for women and young dressmakers in Newmont Ghana's Ahafo North, Ahafo South and Akyem mining areas. At the launch of the project, the Director of Communications and External Relations of Newmont Ghana Gold Limited, Agbeko Azumah, said women's economic empowerment was a pre-requisite for inclusive and equitable economic growth.

He said at Newmont, they believed that for women to succeed and advance economically, they required skills and resources to compete in markets, as well as fair and equal access to economic institutions, hence their involvement in the programme.“This is one of the many reasons why we are partnering with GIZ and PYXERA to implement the programme. It falls in line with our quest to build an inclusive society,” he stated.

Mr Azumah said the company would continue to play an important role in catalysing the economic development and social well-being of host governments and communities through job creation, local sourcing, community investments and paying taxes and royalties.

He advised young women to equip themselves with all the skills and knowledge required to become economically independent and also to be able to impact the younger generation.He charged the beneficiaries to step into the world of economic freedom, break the gender-bias barriers by taking advantage of opportunities available to them.

"In the coming years, we will like to see the benefits and impact of our investment manifesting in your lives and that of the local economy,” he told the beneficiaries. For her part, the Country Director of PYXERA Global, Barbara Gbologah-Quaye, said the programme was targeted at enhancing the potentials of selected women-owned businesses in the host communities of Newmont Ghana.

The Team Leader of Invest for Jobs, GIZ Ghana, John Duti, said the programme was part of its cooperation with Newmont Ghana’s Garment, Aquaculture, and Food Processing (GAP) project, which sought to provide a holistic approach to job creation.He said the garment; textile and fashion sectors offered employment opportunities and supported the livelihoods of most women.

Mr Duti said the industry was foreseen to become a great avenue to bridge the gap of unemployment, especially among women and contribute enormously to the economic growth of the country.He explained that when women were given access to the right tools, training and resources, they would become powerful catalysts for poverty eradication and sustainable development.

For his part, the Adontenhene of the Terchire Traditional Council, Nana Atta Tibo, thanked the organisers of the programme and expressed the hope that the programme would help enhance capabilities of the participants.