Forbes’ global statistics show that whilst limited funding is a challenge for both male and female entrepreneurs, women face more hurdles in accessing funding.  Only about 2.3% of venture capital goes to women entrepreneurs, and only 2% of women owned startups eventually generate a $1million as opposed to men who are 3.5 times more likely to achieve this number. Forbes goes on further to say that 48% of women in business also struggle because of the lack of competent advisors and mentors.

In Ghana, total early-stage entrepreneurial activity of women is at almost 60% and according to a study in 2019 conducted by the Mastercard Index of Women’s Entrepreneurship (MIWE), Ghana ranks as the country with the highest percentage of businesses owned by women – a whopping 46.4%!

However, beyond the financial and mentorship challenges, are other challenges like marginalization, social expectations, and personal and professional life balance. The GCIC Women Entrepreneurs Transformation Program (WETP) is a distinct aspect of the GCIC incubator that recognizes the peculiar challenges of female business leaders and attempts to resolve those challenges by creating safe spaces for gendered discourse.

The workshops were specifically and intentionally designed to support women to lead from the inside out, so that they are enabled to lead their businesses purposefully, authentically, and consciously, and ultimately have an impact on the transformation of Ghana’s economy, and especially the green economy.

Last week’s 2 day, WETP masterclass focused on Self Balance: Work + Life and was attended exclusively by the female members of the GCIC’s cohort 7 entrepreneurs. The masterclass was curated and facilitated by the Executive Director of GCIC, Ruka Sanusi, and explored themes of (work + life) balance, wellbeing, selfcare, and mental health.