By Albert Futukpor

Tamale, Oct 27, GNA – The maiden edition of the Regional Women ICON Exhibition has opened in Tamale to celebrate the remarkable achievements, and contributions made by women in various trade and export sectors. 

 The Exhibition which showcased a number of businesses owned by women and their products such as shea butter, dawadawa, groundnut paste, beverages, smocks, sandals, fabrics, lotions, flowers amongst others was also to inspire future generations and promote gender equality in business. 

 The three-day event, organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), created a platform to showcase locally made products and services produced by women-owned enterprises and to help identify potential exporters who would be groomed and transited to the export space. 

     Dr Afua Asabea Asare, Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, whose speech was read on her behalf during the opening of the exhibition in Tamale said it was to acknowledge hard-working women in various regions, who had made huge impact on society with their business endeavours. 

     In line with the event, GEPA presented the Northern Regional Women ICON for 2023 Award to Hajia Rabiatu Abukari, Chief Executive Officer of Maltiti A. Enterprise and President of Ripples OR Ghana, for her immense contributions to the country’s agribusiness space. 

Hajia Rabiatu Abukari is a visionary agribusiness stalwart with over two decades of impactful experience, and has orchestrated a remarkable journey through the agricultural landscape. 

     Her legacy is deeply rooted in the processing, marketing, and distribution of diverse products including shea butter and shea-based cosmetics, rice, soya, and non-timber-forest products like baobab and dawadawa. 

     Hajia Rabiatu Abukari, in her acceptance speech, expressed gratitude to GEPA for the recognition, and dedicated the award to her workers and women groups in the communities that she worked with. 

     She advised women to continue to invest in producing quality products and diversify their operations to make impact in society. 

      She appealed for a deliberate affordable credit scheme for women-owned businesses to expand and improve their operations to create more jobs and incomes. 

     Alhaji Alhassan Issahaku, Northern Regional Coordinating Director, who represented the Northern Regional Minister, thanked GEPA for recognising the efforts of women in the region and urged them to build on the potentials of the region for the benefit of the country. 

     He congratulated Hajia Rabiatu Abukari for her exploits in the agribusiness space and encouraged the participants to aspire for greatness in their fields. 

     He appealed to all government agencies engaged in business promotion, to come out to the aid of women with funding and capacity building initiatives to help them to succeed. 

GNA