Women’s Enterprise Fund Has D23.8 Million in Outstanding Loans, Minister Says

By Fatou Sillah

The Women’s Enterprise Fund has D23.84 million in outstanding loans from financing provided to beneficiaries since 2021, according to Fatou Kinteh, the Minister of Gender, Children, and Social Welfare.

Responding to questions before the National Assembly, Ms. Kinteh said the fund had disbursed D95.045 million in revolving loans since 2021. Of that amount, D71.204 million has been recovered, leaving D23,840,762 still owed by beneficiaries.

“The outstanding balance therefore represents loans that remain to be recovered from beneficiaries,” Ms. Kinteh said.

The minister said her department had introduced several measures to strengthen loan recovery, including discussions with the Central Bank and commercial banks aimed at reducing transaction costs and making repayments easier for borrowers.

The ministry has also recruited two loan recovery officers and an enterprise development clerk to pursue outstanding payments and assist beneficiaries with repayment arrangements, she said.

“The immediate priority is to recover the outstanding D23,840,762 while simultaneously strengthening the fund systems for loan administration, recovery, monitoring, and enterprise development,” Ms. Kinteh said.

The Women’s Enterprise Fund operates as a revolving loan program, meaning money repaid by beneficiaries can be made available to finance other women-owned enterprises. Recovering outstanding loans is therefore important to maintaining the fund’s ability to extend financing to additional beneficiaries.

Ms. Kinteh said the ministry was also working to digitize its loan and repayment records, expand the channels through which beneficiaries can make payments, and review the Women’s Enterprise Fund Act to allow the fund to provide loans to individuals.