100 Young women to receive employable skills via CAMFED and Absa Bank partnership

A partnership between Campaign for Female Education (CAMFED) and Absa Bank Ghana is set to empower 100 young women with employable skills, with plans to expand to support an additional 400 over the next three years.

The training programme, starting in July 2024, will equip underprivileged young women with vocational skills in areas like weaving, baking, and soap making, as well as mentoring and business management training.

The initiative will focus on equipping the women with employable skills in weaving, baking, soap making, and other relevant vocational skills.

Additionally, participants will receive mentoring and basic business management training, ensuring they are well-prepared to start and manage their own businesses successfully.

National Director of CAMFED Ghana, Madam Fairuza Safian, highlighted the transformative impact of the programme.

“If you understand the operations of CAMFED Ghana, we deal with rural young women from underserved and underprivileged communities who are themselves disadvantaged and would be able to hit their chest and say that, but for CAMFED’s intervention, we would not have been where we are,” she stated.

She encouraged the beneficiaries to see the training as a crucial opportunity that could significantly change their lives and the lives of those in their communities. “Once they are interested and they are passionate about this, then our success rates are high,” she explained.

The programme will also provide the trainees with start-up kits or grants, business mentoring, and coaching to help them transform their new skills into sustainable businesses.

Interim Managing Director at Absa Bank Ghana, Mr. Adolph Kpegah, emphasized the bank’s commitment to ensuring the success of the young women.

 “We want to ensure that when these young women start their businesses, they are fully equipped to succeed,” he said. He added that the initiative addresses the challenge of youth unemployment by increasing employability, particularly for women who have not furthered their education.

The programme is part of Absa Bank’s broader commitment to be a ‘Force for Good’ in the communities it serves, encapsulating all the activities and initiatives the bank undertakes to give back to society.

The partnership between CAMFED and Absa Bank Ghana represents a significant step towards empowering young women with the skills and resources they need to achieve economic independence and contribute to the economic development of Ghana.