Empowering Women in Ghana’s Timber Industry with Digital Skills

The Kumasi Wood Cluster Association (KWC) in collaboration with the GIZ Digital Transformation Centre in Ghana is currently spearheading a groundbreaking initiative aimed at equipping members of the Women in Timber Ghana Association (WiTG) with essential digital skills.

I n today's increasingly digitalized world, the acquisition of digital skills and its associated tools is not merely a choice but a necessity, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) operating in the forest sector. As the global marketplace evolves, digital tools and technologies have become indispensable for streamlining operations, expanding market reach, and enhancing overall competitiveness.

For women engaged in forest-based enterprises, these skills are a powerful means of leveling the playing field and empowering them to participate actively in an industry traditionally dominated by men. Digital literacy equips these entrepreneurs with the tools to access markets, manage resources efficiently, and adapt to rapidly changing market dynamics. Moreover, it opens doors to innovative approaches that can help sustain and grow their businesses, making the integration of digital skills an imperative step towards fostering economic empowerment and gender equality within the forestry sector.

The Kumasi Wood Cluster Association (KWC) in collaboration with the GIZ Digital Transformation Centre in Ghana is currently spearheading a groundbreaking initiative aimed at equipping members of the Women in Timber Ghana Association (WiTG) with essential digital skills. This program, known as the Pilot Digital Skills Training Program, serves as a precursor to a comprehensive three-year project which will kick start in the first quarter of 2024.

The pilot program has been thoughtfully crafted to empower WiTG members by imparting practical digital skills through a coaching and mentoring approach, enabling them to thrive in the digital age and enhance their competitiveness, productivity, and business efficiency.

The decision to launch this pilot project with WiTG was prompted by the urgent need for digital training, which was consistently expressed by WiTG representatives and their President during a meeting with GIZ technical advisors, the GIZ Country Director, and delegates from the German Development Cooperation (BMZ) and the German Embassy, held at HapaSpace Innovation Hub earlier this year.

Training Objectives

1. To provide ten selected women from WiTG with functional digital skills that they can leverage to increase profitability, expand market share, and improve their overall living conditions.
2. To nurture three of the trainees into "Digital Champions," equipping them to become future trainers and mentors within their community.
3. To gather valuable insights into the digital skills needs of women in the timber value chain, which will inform the rollout of the main GIZ digital project.

The training program is scheduled to span an eight-week period (two months) and it is being facilitated by experts from HapaSpace Innovation Hub, a tech company based in Kumasi that specializes in supporting startups and SMEs with technology solutions. The training employs a blended approach, encompassing whole group mentoring sessions, cluster mentoring, and one-on-one mentoring.

Initially, ten members of the Women in Timber Ghana Association are benefiting from this pilot training, with the potential to expand its reach to any interested WiTG members. Out of these ten, three will be chosen to become digital champions, tasked with training others in the future.

Following the anticipated success of this pilot phase, the main project is slated to commence in the first quarter of 2024. The stakeholders behind this transformative initiative, including GIZ Digital Transformation Center in Ghana and KWC, seeks to extend this training to benefit a more extensive network of women entrepreneurs in Ghana's forestry sector.

The Kumasi Wood Cluster Association (KWC), as an institutional patron of WiTG, is serving as the crucial link between WiTG and GIZ while facilitating all collaborative activities. KWC coordinated the selection of trainees for this initial stage of the project. KWC envisions a fruitful and enduring partnership that will ultimately drive the widespread adoption of digital technology in the business processes of WiTG members.