What an exciting day it has been at the CWS Ghana office! This morning Shak and I accompanied Abiba and Salima, water and solar center entrepreneurs from Wambong, to open their first bank account!
Since the solar center opened in October 2013, Abiba and Salima have been saving up their profits from mostly cell phone charge sales. They want to save their money in the bank to prevent theft, to acquire savings interest, to have money in the bank in case anything breaks at the solar center and in their own words, “to save for something big”. They also hope that the bank will offer a free checking account that would allow them to manage their money more effectively. You can learn more about Free Checking accounts here.
Salima and Shak (top picture) — Abiba fills out bank account application with Bonzali Rural Bank employee (bottom picture)After doing some rural banking research, Peter, Shak and I decided that Bonzali Rural Bank would be the best fit for Abiba and Salima. They have a bank branch at the University of Development Studies in Nyankpala, which is close and accessible to the women from Wambong. The bank conducts business in English and Dagbani and has employees help illiterate customers fill out deposit or withdrawal slips, which means Abiba and Salima can go to the bank on their own.
We are so proud and excited for Abiba and Salima and hope to help more entrepreneurs open bank accounts in the future!
-Brianán
very interesting