Ghana – Pan-African Bank, Ecobank in a bid to address daily financial decisions, such as bookkeeping, basic accounting, budgeting, savings and investments has empowered several Ghanian women running Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with necessary skills and financial tools.
This training was organised to mark Ecobank Day, a flagship annual Corporate Social Responsibility to give back to the communities in which the bank lives, works and serves.
The Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr Dan Sackey, while addressing the gathering at the training centre at UPSA in Accra, said the focus of this year’s Ecobank Day was increasing financial literacy and financial inclusion, particularly for women and youth in marginalised communities.
“We recognise that financial literacy and financial inclusion are life-changing matters, and that is why we treat them very seriously. We are determined to help raise financial literacy, which in turn will drive financial inclusion in our local communities.”
“Ecobank Ghana is committed to playing an important role in our communities as a meaningful contribution to the development of the African continent, in line with our overall corporate vision”, he said.
Mr. Dan Sackey defined as financial literacy defined the ability to use one’s knowledge and abilities gained through education and training to properly manage financial resources, preferably for a lifetime of financial well-being.
Additionally, he defined financial inclusion as having access to practical and reasonably priced financial goods and services, such as payments, savings, loans for individuals and small businesses, and insurance, to suit one’s requirements.
He continued by saying that alleviating poverty depends in large part on financial inclusion and financial knowledge.
However, he noted that 68% of Sub-Saharan Africans lacked financial literacy and that 62% of unbanked people lived in rural regions, 40% of whom were young adults between the ages of 15 and 24. Thus, 74% of those without bank accounts had only completed elementary school.
He mentioned that the Ecobank family in Ghana held four simultaneous events in Accra, Kumasi, Takoradi, and Tamale to provide people in the SME sector with knowledge and skills to manage their finances effectively as part of the bank’s contributions to lowering these statistics.
He revealed that one was scheduled for Manya Krobo at a later time owing to unforeseen circumstances.
According to Mr. Sackey, the training, is a further way to give women and young people simple access to opening accounts remotely, as well as to receiving and sending payments and sending money to loved ones without going to the branch.
