Gov’t should support vulnerable men too – GUTA’s Joseph Obeng on WDB

The President of the Ghana Union of Traders’ Associations (GUTA), Joseph Obeng, has commended the government’s plan to establish the Women’s Development Bank (WDB) in the 2026 Budget while advocating that similar support to be extended to vulnerable men in the trading sector.

Acknowledging the importance of the WDB initiative, Joseph Obeng described it as a timely solution to the financial challenges faced by female traders in the informal trading sector.

During an appearance on Joy News’ PM Express Business Edition on Monday, November 17, the GUTA president highlighted that women in the trading business have long been vulnerable to exploitative lending practices, and are often forced to rely on microfinance institutions and “susu” systems that charge excessive interest rates.

“Our women are very vulnerable and they normally do not do business with the mainstream banks. They do their business with microfinance and susu systems at very excessive prices that make them wallow in poverty because they cannot even pay the interest,” he said.

He however advocated for a more inclusive approach to government support for vulnerable traders.

“As we are thanking government for that, we also want to appeal to government that some of our men are as weak as the women,” he said on a lighter note.

When asked if he was calling for a separate Men’s Development Bank, he clarified that his proposal was not about creating parallel institutions but rather finding ways to integrate vulnerable male traders into existing support frameworks.

“We should find a way to also tie them up somewhere, those vulnerable ones, to also get something, he added, indicating that a good number of male traders also face similar challenges in accessing affordable credit.

The GUTA President’s remarks come as Finance Minister Cassiel Ato Forson recently announced a GHC401 million allocation in the 2026 Budget intended for the capitalization of the WDB.

The WDB initiative is intended to empower women entrepreneurs by providing accessible, low-interest or some interest-free loans, and addressing financial barriers they often face with traditional commercial banks.