CBG to expand responsible credit access for PWD-owned businesses – Managing Director

Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG) Managing Director Dr Naomi Wolali Kwetey has announced a new financing initiative aimed at expanding responsible credit access for entrepreneurs with disabilities. Speaking at the bank's Disability Conference on September 11, Dr Kwetey emphasized the bank's commitment to financial inclusion as a strategic responsibility and the economic potential of people across all sections of society.

The initiative, which began with the onboarding of 119 participants under the PWD Financial Inclusion Programme, involves providing loans rather than grants to PWD entrepreneurs, enabling them to access formal credit under terms that account for the challenges they face in the conventional financial system. Dr Kwetey rejected a view of persons with disabilities as solely beneficiaries, describing them as entrepreneurs, employers, producers, professionals and customers with aspirations similar to other business owners.

The new loan initiative is designed to provide a pathway into formal credit, promoting both opportunity and responsibility, and ensuring that beneficiaries develop formal borrowing and repayment relationships with the bank. CBG will maintain core lending safeguards such as sound appraisal, transparency, responsible lending, and accountability.

The Managing Director underscored the importance of maintaining a balance between inclusion and sustainability, emphasizing that credit without responsibility will not empower entrepreneurs. CBG aims to deepen partnerships and expand responsible access to finance for PWD-owned businesses across Ghana, measuring the initiative's impact through business strength, account relationships, responsible repayment, and beneficiaries' confidence in the formal financial system.