Jobs for women in the north of Ghana
The project significantly enhanced the economic participation of rural women in Ghana’s shea sector. By its completion in December 2022, 30,248 women, including 1,498 youth, had received specialised training in cooperative governance and quality shea processing as well as market linkages. Out of this, 26,733 received further support in the area of provision of personal protective equipment, thereby improving their working conditions. The project has also created a total of 552 jobs (516 for women, including 130 for young people) within the 50 partner cooperatives, which can now process shea for the local and export markets. The project gained strong interest from both European and Ghanaian private sector actors, including Fuji Oil Europe, Bunge Loders Croklaan, Mother Shea Ltd., OLENEX Sarl, Savannah Fruits Co. Ltd., and Sunlife Ltd., who recognised the potential of a more structured, traceable, and high-quality shea value chain.
Private sector contributions totalled EUR 621,544, supporting the construction of processing warehouses, provision of equipment, and supply of pre-processing tools.
Invest for Jobs supported the project by providing technical training and facilitating the formalisation of cooperatives, enabling farmer groups to engage in business more effectively and within formal market structures. As a result, individuals who gained employment through the project continue to work and are expanding access to markets. Others who adopted improved practices are experiencing sustained improvements in their working conditions. Building on the success of the project, a second phase was launched in December 2023, with an expanded scope aimed atreaching additional beneficiaries and supporting more companies within the sector.
The Global Shea Alliance (GSA) was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH in the context of Invest for Jobs on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).