Ghana MP Launches $1M Interest-Free Loan Fund for Women

Alhassan Suhiyini is putting his money where his values are, and 5,000 women entrepreneurs are about to benefit.

The Member of Parliament for Tamale North launched the 1Heart Women Empowerment Fund with one million Ghana cedis (about $62,000 USD) in seed capital. The initiative offers interest-free loans to women running small businesses like food stalls and market stands.

Women can receive between 10,000 and 20,000 Ghana cedis to start or expand their businesses. Repayment begins after just two weeks, but here's the remarkable part: Suhiyini is personally absorbing all the interest costs that would normally be charged.

"It is aimed at supporting the wakye seller, the jollof seller, the koko seller and the kosei seller," Suhiyini explained at the launch in Tamale. These are the women selling traditional Ghanaian foods and running the micro-businesses that keep communities fed and functioning.

The program targets 23 carefully selected women's groups already helping each other through regular savings contributions. Some groups meet weekly to pool as little as fifty pesewas (about 3 cents) to support each other's ventures.

Maslog, the Ghana Enterprise Agency, and the National Apprentice Programme are partnering on the initiative. Beyond cash loans, they'll provide equipment like tricycles and sewing machines to help women expand their operations.

The Ripple Effect

This fund does more than help individual businesses grow. When women gain financial independence, entire families benefit through better nutrition, healthcare, and education for children.

The beneficiaries already know exactly how they'll use the support: expanding their trades, supporting their households, and covering their children's school fees. By building on existing women's savings groups rather than starting from scratch, the program taps into proven community networks and mutual accountability.

Suhiyini's office plans to use this million-cedi foundation as a model to attract additional support from state and non-state institutions. The goal is creating a sustainable ecosystem where 5,000 small women-owned businesses can thrive.

For women who've been pooling pennies to help each other, real capital without crushing interest payments opens doors that seemed permanently locked.