Kosi Yankey-Ayeh
THE GHANA Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Mastercard Foundation have announced a partnership with two e-Commerce operators, Plendify Inc. and Tonaton.com, to support women and young entrepreneurs to promote products and connect with customers globally through an online marketplace.
Businesses under the agreement will also benefit from capacity building programmes that are designed to provide know-how on branding and digital marketing.
The partnership was in line with the Micro Small Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) Business Acceleration (MBA) component of the Mastercard Foundation and GEA Young Africa Works Project, which seeks to support women entrepreneurs with brand building, business promotion, and access to new markets.
The online shop, themed “Made in Ghana Concept Shop” will host and market products from targeted MSMEs within the categories of Ghanaian-owned/led businesses, women-owned/led businesses, businesses with a minimum of five employees (both permanent and casual, start-ups owned by women and other unique product offerings.
Chief Executive Officer of GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, expressed optimism over partnerships with more organisations soon to support women and youth-owned MSMEs to scale their operations.
Plendify Inc and Tonation.com specialise in e-Commerce, retail, and financial technology and have been at the forefront of growing e-Commerce in Ghana for several years. This collaboration brings together decades of experience to help youth and women-owned enterprises to benefit from global e-Commerce and digital marketing opportunities.
“It is important to note that the digital space is expanding rapidly, bringing with it an increasing need to develop initiatives that allow women and young entrepreneurs to scale up their businesses and also access new markets,” she said.
In March 2021, GEA announced a similar initiative with Lokko House Limited, to support women-owned MSMEs market their products via an online marketplace.
The platform, according to Mrs Yankey-Ayeh, “continues to build traction and brings onboard women entrepreneurs across the country”.
Regional Director for West, Central and Northern Africa of the Mastercard Foundation, Nathalie Akon Gabala, indicated that enabling access to digital market platforms for women and young entrepreneurs in an increasingly digitized world would help accelerate growth and build capacity to take advantage of global opportunities.