US ambassador inaugurates shea butter treatment center for women

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US Ambbadador to Ghana, Stephanie S. Sullivan, led a ribbon cutting and inaugurated a shea butter processing facility that will expand economic opportunities for 600 women who collect and process shea nuts .

"The United States supports key projects like this one to promote economic growth and job creation in Ghana so that young people can build a prosperous future for themselves, for the benefit of all citizens and their families. their communities, "said Ambbadador Sullivan.

The US government, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), supported the construction of the processing plant and warehouse at Gizaa-Gunda in northern Ghana.

Shea is one of the main sources of income for women in northern Ghana and one of the few agricultural crops where women control income.

This event highlights efforts to promote women's economic empowerment through partnerships that link Ghanaian women producers to US buyers.

The partnership to develop shea butter The processing plant and the warehouse were catalyzed by USAID and the Global Shea Alliance (GSA) and partnerships included with an American cosmetics company, a local purchasing company (Compan Savanna Fruitsthere), Presbyterian Agricultural Services (PAS) and the local communityy under the Project for Sustainable Shea Initiative (SSI).

The ISS was launched in 2016 by USAID in papartnership with GSA. This is an $ 18 million, five-year partnership to promote the sustainable development of the shea industry in Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Togo and Burkina Faso.

The partnership matches USAID funds with those of the private sector and donors to provide the necessary skills training and infrastructure needed to support women collectors of shea.

TThe Gizaa-Gunda facility is one of 34 warehouses that USAID and GSA have opened with communities and cooperatives in Ghana over the last three years; expand opportunities for 30,000 women.

In total, SSI is expected to deliver 250 warehouses in West Africa, generating more than $ 150 million in shea exports and benefiting more than 137,000 women.

The United States hopes to find other opportunities in the coming year to partner with businesses, communities and non-profit organizations to create new opportunities for Ghanaians and to promote the path of autonomy and resilience.