It is a well-known fact that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a great role for the domestic economy. In Ghana, SMEs represent 98% of all companies. They contribute about 70% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and 80% of total employment.
On this day of international woman entrepreneurship, let’s put into the light a new tool that aims to better support entrepreneurs in their development. To do so, acknowledging gender dynamics and roles is an important milestone and can make the difference.
GTA stands for Gender Transformative Approach. This enables us to rethink the way we support entrepreneurs, considering gender inequalities and power dynamics.
Christiana produces natural spices but struggles to grow her business due to time and financial constraints. When her husband relocated to another region, she was left alone to care for their 2-year-old daughter, manage her business, and financially support her extended family.
Through the GTA and with guidance from her coach, Christiana identified performance fatigue as a major challenge and took steps to address it.
She arranged childcare support from a trusted neighbour, freeing up time for her business. She also created a monthly calendar to better balance her work and family duties and started having regular discussions with her husband about family priorities.
Today, as Christiana began paying herself a salary, she no longer feels overwhelmed by her responsibilities. With these changes, Christiana has gained better control over her business, improved her financial management, and enjoys more quality family time. The GTA Loop provides both the knowledge and the concrete tools, such as the safe, which aims to explore different perspectives and develop actionable strategies.
A safe aim is an objective that is drafted and decided throughout the coaching. It is meant to stimulate the SME to step outside her/his comfort zone and actively seek change.
Even though we celebrate women entrepreneurs on this day, the GTA applies to everyone. William is a poultry farmer in Obuasi, a sector he considers to be largely dominated by men due to the physical efforts they have to undertake on a daily basis. Along the process and as he dived deeper into the topic of social roles, he successfully employed two talented women in traditionally male-dominated roles within his business.
“Both women have excelled and introduced innovative solutions, such as improving logistics processes, with their support and initiative. Their contributions have enhanced our business operations and demonstrated the value of gender diversity.”
Their presence has fostered an inclusive environment where collaboration thrives. Open discussions about gender roles have encouraged all team members to share ideas without fear of judgment. Their success has sparked increased interest from local women in exploring similar opportunities.
It has been a few months since Nigeria has started to implement the GTA Loop, alongside the SME Loop. In 6 regions, 14 SMEs were trained. A challenge since, and coaches had to get familiar with both tools at the same time. But the work has paid off.
According to the Master-coach, Janet Anaka Abuo, “of course, a lot of focus has been put on SME Loop, but the whole exercise of GTA Loop opened them up to more discussions. At first, some SMEs were locked in but after a while, they realized the opportunities to exchange.”
The seeds are well and truly planted, as well as in-depth work on gender roles within a company but also within a family or a community. These are definitely great prospects for fairer entrepreneurship for all.
For more information about GTA Loop, please reach out to the International SME Loop Association : info@smeloop.com
