The WERise Network has held its 2026 Annual General Meeting (AGM) and Regional Fora at the CalBank PLC Auditorium in Accra, bringing together women entrepreneurs, development partners, financial institutions and key ecosystem stakeholders from across the country.
Held under the theme: “Rise & Scale: Celebrating Growth, Building Revenue & Creating Jobs,” the event reviewed the Network’s performance in 2025 and outlined priorities for the year ahead.
Mrs Eunice Dewi Adjei, Chief Executive Officer of WERise Network, challenged members to move beyond business survival and focus on sustained growth, revenue generation and job creation.
“Rising is beautiful. But rising is not enough,” she said, adding that the power to scale businesses was critical to transforming lives, families and communities.
Mrs Adjei said WERise reached 7,959 women and youth across 12 regions in 2025, with 70 per cent being young women, while 3,632 women-owned businesses were formalised.
She said the Yenze Ghana Mall had become an important platform for helping women-owned businesses transition from growth to scale, with vendors recording sales of GH¢2,146,691 year-to-date, more than double the previous year’s figure of over GH¢1 million.
The Mall currently has more than 300 active vendors and 2,000 made-in-Ghana products, while the BizBox Project had created 147 jobs, with beneficiaries earning an average monthly income of GH¢1,000.
On digital skills development, Mrs Adjei said the DigiVibe programme had trained 209 women-led businesses through hands-on digital laboratories in Accra and Kumasi.
She said the programme, delivered in partnership with the AFOS Foundation and other stakeholders, including the Association of Ghana Startups and Women’s Haven, had so far onboarded 22 vendors onto the MojoPay e-commerce platform.
Additionally, 155 young women had been screened for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) placements under the TechServe programme.
A speech read on behalf of Mrs Margaret Magoo Ansei, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), commended members of the Network for their progress and encouraged them to build on the momentum achieved.
The GEA reaffirmed its commitment, as the founding institution of WERise, to supporting women-led enterprises through policy development, capacity building and improved access to finance.
A major highlight of the Regional Fora was a presentation by Ms Cynthia Torto, Global Brand Consultant and Strategic Marketing Leader, on the topic: “Building Sustainable Brands for SME Growth.”
Drawing on more than two decades of international experience in brand strategy and communications, Ms Torto urged entrepreneurs to view their brands as strategic growth assets rather than an afterthought.
She explained that a clear brand identity, consistent customer experience and compelling storytelling could help small businesses command better prices, build customer loyalty and access larger markets.
The AGM was supported by the Mastercard Foundation, the lead funder through the BizBox Project, CalBank PLC, which served as AGM sponsor and host, the Ghana Enterprises Agency, AfroSphere and other partners.
The week-long WERise programme continues with an exhibition at the Yenze Ghana Mall and Akuna Pod from September 29 to October 4, 2026.
Masterclasses on financial literacy, artificial intelligence and digital tools, as well as business management, are scheduled to take place at Akuna Pod from September 30, 2026.
