The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with Vodafone Foundation has launched an initiative in the Upper East Region to bridge the digital disparity between the formal and informal sectors.
The initiative dubbed ‘Bringing informal to formal through technology’ will among other things use digital tools to enable actors from the informal sector have opportunity of improved business and financial management capacities geared towards increasing incomes.
Economic Adviser of UNDP, Radhika Lal speaking exclusively to A1 News in a sideline of the launching said the initiative strives to aid Ghana achieve the Agenda 2030 which pledges to leave no one behind.
“For us at UNDP, one is the power of digital technology and secondly, is to see how the use of technology can be used to help the marginalized so that no one is left behind. One of the requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is to reach to everyone. Women are key in terms of savings and loans but they are sometimes neglected, that is why we are engaging them so they can join the formal sector”, she said.
The National launch of the program targets about 1,500 entrepreneurial women in the agribusiness value in the Bolgatanga, Municipal, Bawku West, Bongo and Kassena Nankana West Districts for a period of 24 months.
Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo – Nai indicated that over 2.5 billion people across the globe lack access to formal financial services at a reasonable cost.
Narrowing it to Ghana, she said just a little of about 30 percent of the population is financially included. The reason Mrs. Obo – Nai believes the initiative will provide financial inclusion on all forms.
“As you know, Mobile Money is a way to the future and so, driving financial inclusion through using Mobile wallet is an imperative going forward. That is why we have partnered with UNDP to make this happen. It is only a start and if we are able to do it well, then it opens up opportunity to even widen it across the country”, Mrs. Obo – Nai stated.
Upper East Regional Minister, Tangoba Abayage said the UNDP partnership with Vodafone Foundation will equip the beneficiary women in the region with the requisite knowledge and skills to deliver their mandate in all fields of endeavor.
Source:A1radioonline.com|Joshua Asaah
