CFO of MTN Ghana Encourages Women-Led Companies to Adopt E-Commerce and Develop Digital Skills.

The first African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO) Ghana Impact Dinner was held on April 27, 2025, at the Fiesta Residences in Cantonments. Antoinette Kwofie, the Chief Finance Officer of MTN Ghana, challenged women-led businesses in Ghana to improve their digital skills and actively use e-commerce platforms to scale their operations and expand their market reach.

Under the theme “Strutting into Global Markets: Utilising Traditional & Venture Capital Finance for Business Leverage,” the event seeks to initiate meaningful discussions about enterprise development, regional trade, finance, and investor sourcing, with a particular emphasis on equipping women with the skills, networks, and frameworks necessary to grow their businesses internationally.

Antoinette brought attention to the discrepancy between women’s professional social media presence and their use of e-commerce platforms at a panel discussion. Drawing from research conducted throughout Africa, she disclosed that while 60% of women-owned businesses use social media platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp for marketing and sales, only roughly 25% of women now use e-commerce platforms.

In light of this, she pointed out that women-led enterprises’ ability to expand is being hampered by their restricted usage of e-commerce platforms. The necessity for female businesses to embrace digital transformation was thus underlined by her.

“A lot of women worry about online fraud, but if we could do more by implementing safe payment methods, utilising international e-commerce platforms, and even going so far as to incorporate links to safe payment platforms into their websites, it would greatly expand our reach and assist in the exponential growth of women-led businesses,” she said.

Antoinette concluded by urging female entrepreneurs to make investments in enhancing their financial literacy and digital abilities, emphasizing the resources available to promote capacity building in these domains.I therefore issue a challenge to all women-led SMEs to increase their knowledge of digital platforms. You may expand your clientele and expand your company by doing this,” she advised.

Women company owners, executives, and industry participants convened at the AWLO Ghana Impact Dinner to talk about ways to grow their companies using venture capital and traditional funding.

Founded in 2009, the prestigious nonprofit African Women in Leadership Organisation (AWLO) is dedicated to redefining the role of African women in leadership so they can lead impactfully and authentically through executive coaching, cross-border mentoring programs, customised leadership training, and visibility platforms.