The Ghana Tourism Authority has launched the Women in Business and Tourism, Ghana (WIBAT) aimed at building strong business skills, leadership and entrepreneurship capabilities among women in the tourism sector in Ghana.
Some objectives of WIBAT include encouraging women to undertake businesses and promote tourism, creating a platform to network as well as establishing joint ventures and partnerships with other women and businesses across the world.
According to the President of WIBAT, Madam Eunice Ogbugo, WIBAT strives to develop entrepreneurial and business skills in women whiles promoting tourism.
“We hope to achieve this through investment seminars, fairsand conferences in the tourism industry and other related sectors. We also hope to empower our women to strive to be the pacesetters of the change in Ghana’s tourism industry”, she said.
Ms Ogbugo expressed appreciation to the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture and the President, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo for their supports for spearheading an organisation that would cater for the needs of business growth among women in the country.
Some of the initiatives to be undertaken to support the WIBAT project is to provide a start-up and growth clinic, establish a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), connect with other African countries and build synergies among fellow African women.
On her part, the Minister for Tourism, Madam Barbara Oteng-Gyasi said, WIBAT would lead women into the key parts of tourism businesses and form a pool of future top leadership, entrepreneurs and industrialists in the sector.
She said women represented about half of the available talent to organisations and economies in most countries and therefore effectively managing the talent pipeline is essential for meeting companies’ human capital.
The Minister urged captains of the organisation to play and champion their various assigned roles in communities and contribute effectively towards the economic growth and development of the communities as well as the country and Africa at large.
“I will urge all of us to stand up to be counted in both Ghana and Africa history as indeed Women in Business and Tourism Ghana chapter, you need to be conscious of the danger of being satisfied with anything short of the best” she added.
