13 Female-led horticulture business owners have been certified by HortiFresh through MDF West Africa for successfully completing the first (1st) HortiFresh Female Business Accelerator Program. The Graduation ceremony took place at the Mensvic Grand hotel on Friday, October 1, 2021 where the certificates and plaques were handed out to graduands by the Program Manager of HortiFresh Mrs. Sheila Assibey-Yeboah and the Lead Business Development Services of MDF West Africa, Susanne Roelofsen.

The coaching program aimed at strengthening the capacity of female entrepreneurs in the horticulture sector under the HortiFresh Access to Finance component. The nine-month program has been designed to focus on five key areas; business strategy, sales and marketing, human resource, business administration and financial management. It also addressed key challenges in the management of horticulture businesses.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony, the Program Manager of HortiFresh, highlighted the importance of capacity strengthening in the area of financial and business management. She noted that, this will go a long way to position businesses in the horticulture sector for support from the financial sector and impact communities.

The Lead Business Development Services of MDF West Africa, the consulting and implementing partner for the Female Business Accelerator coaching program, Susanne Roelofsen expressed appreciation to HortiFresh for the opportunity to train these businesses and commended the 13 enterpreneurs for completing program. According to her, this is a key milestone in getting their businesses ready to tap into opportunities available in the financial sector. She urged all the female enterpreneurs to strictly adhere and implement the various elements of the program in the day to day management of their businesses. https://hortifresh.org/hortifresh-female-business-accelerator/