Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd. (CBG) has introduced a Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Inclusion Loan Initiative aimed at providing responsible and sustainable access to credit for entrepreneurs living with disabilities across Ghana.
The initiative forms part of CBG’s broader commitment to financial inclusion and seeks to move beyond basic banking access to enable PWD-owned businesses to participate more fully in the formal financial system.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of CBG, Dr. Naomi Wolali Kwetey said the bank sees financial inclusion as a strategic responsibility and is committed to recognizing the economic potential of every segment of society.
According to the Managing Director, CBG’s commitment to PWD financial inclusion began with the onboarding of 119 participants under the bank’s PWD Financial Inclusion Programme.
The bank funded the minimum opening balances for the participants’ accounts and granted approved service-fee waivers to encourage account usage and reduce some of the immediate barriers associated with formal banking.
However, the Managing Director noted that opening bank accounts alone was not enough to achieve meaningful financial inclusion.
“Persons with Disabilities are entrepreneurs, employers, producers, professionals and customers,” the Managing Director said, stressing that their ambitions were no different from those of other business owners.
The CBG PWD Inclusion Loan Initiative, he explained, was designed to address gaps in conventional financial products that may not adequately reflect the realities faced by PWD entrepreneurs, particularly those operating viable businesses informally.
The facilities under the programme will be provided as loans rather than grants, a distinction CBG says is important in recognising beneficiaries as capable economic participants and integrating them into Ghana’s formal credit system.
The bank has adopted an approach it describes as “inclusion with discipline”, combining concessionary pricing and carefully considered exceptions to requirements that could unintentionally exclude viable informal businesses, while maintaining sound credit appraisal, transparency, responsible lending and accountability.
The Managing Director emphasised that sustainability would remain central to the programme.
“Inclusion without sustainability will not endure, and credit without responsibility will not empower,” he said.
He explained that the initiative brings together financial literacy, concessionary finance and sustained business support within a framework tailored to the realities of viable micro-enterprises.
CBG also intends to develop the initiative into a specialised credit proposition for PWD entrepreneurs, with the objective of providing an accessible, commercially responsible and sustainable financing solution.
The bank’s ambition, according to the Managing Director, extends beyond the initial beneficiaries.
CBG plans to deepen partnerships and expand responsible access to finance for PWD-owned businesses across the country.
Success, he said, would not be measured merely by the number of loans disbursed but by the strength and resilience of beneficiary businesses, the quality of account relationships, responsible repayment and the confidence entrepreneurs gain from engaging with the formal financial system.
Addressing beneficiaries, the Managing Director said CBG recognised their potential and enterprise, adding that disability should not define the opportunities available to them.
“The opportunity before you is not defined by disability. It is defined by what you can build when ability, finance and commitment come together,” he said.
The initiative was developed with support from the Korklu Foundation and other partners, whose contribution CBG acknowledged for helping the bank better understand the needs of the PWD community.
The bank also called on the media to help promote a more informed national conversation about inclusive finance and the contribution of PWD entrepreneurs to Ghana’s economy.
