Partners: SUCDEN; Kuapa Kokoo Farmers Union (KKFU)
Period: 2024 – 2025
Country of operation: Ghana
Category: Women’s Economic Empowerment; Financial Inclusion (VSLAs); Cocoa Sector; Agriculture
Project snapshot:
The Women’s Empowerment, Access to Finance and Income Generation in Ghana project is aimed at addressing the primary challenges facing the cocoa sector in Ghana including low income, low productivity, lack of access to financial services and low financial literacy: all of which are some of the root causes of child labour. The primary target of the project is women in the cocoa-growing communities from which SUCDEN sources cocoa.
The project was implemented in the Akontombra, Fosukrom and Adabokrom cocoa districts in the Western North region of Ghana in partnership with SUCDEN and Kuapa Kokoo Farmers’ Union (KKFU).
Project Objectives:
The main objectives of the project include:
- Improving access to finance through the establishment of VSLAs
- Strengthening gender relations in communities at the household level through joint financial planning, as well as at the community level through increased participation in governance structures
- Improving women’s earning capacity in cocoa communities to boost household income.
- Improving the nutrition of households in target communities
- Contributing to a holistic improvement of the welfare of farming households in order to safeguard against potential child labour infractions.
PDA’s Task
PDA was tasked to form 10 VSLA groups in selected districts, and train them using the GALS methodology.
How We Went About It
The project methodology incorporates Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) into VSLAs with the overall objective to improve savings culture, access to micro-credit, improve income, wellbeing and gender justice in household decision making.
PDA formed and trained 9 VSLA groups under the project, which are meeting weekly to save, grant loans, and conduct Gender Action Learning Systems (GALS) training for their members.
Other Activities
A learning workshop was held at the end of the project in April 2025 to highlight project findings and learnings.
The impact of the project has been great: read about the stories of change and the full project report.