Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG) unveiled a dedicated loan programme for persons with disabilities (PWDs) on Friday, 11 September, at the bank’s Disability Conference held at the Du Bois Centre in Cantonments. The initiative seeks to move financial inclusion beyond bank‑account ownership toward sustainable enterprise development and economic participation.
Deputy Managing Director Sheila Azuntaba said the programme represents the next stage of CBG’s engagement with PWD entrepreneurs, combining access to finance with financial literacy and responsible business management. “Opening an account is an important beginning, but inclusion becomes meaningful when that account connects a person to knowledge, finance, markets, and the confidence to build a sustainable livelihood,” she said.
Azuntaba highlighted that beneficiaries are chosen for their enterprise commitment and growth potential, rather than their disability. She stressed that financial literacy is central to the programme because capital alone cannot guarantee success.
The initiative is implemented in partnership with the Korklu Foundation, whose founder Dorcas Naa Korklu Afotey said the programme is intended to empower PWDs to strengthen their businesses, improve livelihoods and contribute meaningfully to families and communities. Afotey urged beneficiaries to manage loans responsibly and use the funds to expand their businesses.
Building on CBG’s earlier PWD Financial Inclusion Programme, which onboarded 119 participants, the new loan facilities are loans rather than grants. Managing Director Dr Naomi Wolali Kwetey said the bank is deliberately moving beyond account opening and financial literacy to responsible access to credit, recognising PWDs as entrepreneurs, employers, producers, professionals and customers with ambitions equal to other business owners.
CBG’s approach, described as “inclusion with discipline,” offers concessionary pricing and carefully considered exceptions to requirements that could exclude viable informal businesses, while retaining sound credit appraisal, transparency, responsible lending and accountability. The bank plans to develop the programme further into a specialised credit proposition for PWD entrepreneurs and to extend responsible financing opportunities to PWD‑owned businesses across Ghana.
The effectiveness of the programme will be assessed not only by the number of loans provided but also by the resilience of beneficiaries’ businesses, the quality of their banking relationships, responsible repayment and their confidence in using formal financial services, Azuntaba said.
CBG’s launch signals a broader commitment to dignity, opportunity and lasting economic inclusion, calling on beneficiaries to reciprocate the bank’s support with responsible management and a commitment to growing their enterprises.
