CARO Ghana Trains Vulnerable Groups in Livelihood Skills to Promote Economic Inclusion

The Centre for Advancing Rural Opportunity (CARO) has trained 20 young women, persons with disabilities (PWDs), Fulbe and other youth from four districts in the Upper West Region in livelihood and business management skills aimed at improving household incomes and strengthening resilience against violent extremism.

The nine-day training, held from June 23 to 30, forms part of CARO's "Bridging the Gap: Promoting Socio-economic Inclusion, Social Cohesion and Peacebuilding in Vulnerable Communities" project.

Participants were selected from eight communities—Kokoligu, Gengenkpe, Tolibre, Bagri, Hapa, Bagwoung, Dorimon and Wechiau—across the Nandom, Lambussie, Lawra and Wa West districts.

The beneficiaries received practical training in the production of liquid soap, cake soap, after-wash and Parazole detergent. They were also equipped with entrepreneurial skills, including marketing, bookkeeping, profit and loss analysis, income and expenditure management, balance sheets, and asset and liability management to enable them to establish and sustain small businesses.

According to the Director of CARO, Mr Freeman Kanton, the training is the second phase of a broader livelihood intervention under the project. The first phase, conducted last year, focused on livestock production, including poultry and small ruminant rearing.

He mentioned that the initiative seeks to increase skills-based employment, improve access to financial opportunities and reduce the vulnerability of young people and minority groups to recruitment into violent extremist activities. As part of the programme, beneficiaries will receive support through a microcredit scheme to expand their businesses and improve household incomes.

CARO will also facilitate business registration, product certification and licensing with institutions such as the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA). In addition, participants will receive business development support to strengthen their enterprises.

Beyond promoting economic empowerment, the project aims to foster social cohesion, improve access to public services for vulnerable groups and enhance community-based conflict prevention and mediation mechanisms.

An Accountant at the Upper West Regional Coordinating Council and one of the facilitators for the training, Mr. Fadilullah Nasirudeen, said the programme was designed to equip participants with essential accounting and business management skills to strengthen their enterprises.

He stressed the importance of proper record-keeping, particularly in documenting income and expenditure, noting that maintaining accurate financial records enhances business management and improves entrepreneurs' chances of accessing credit from financial institutions.

Some beneficiaries of the training expressed appreciation to the Centre for Advancing Rural Opportunity (CARO) and its partners for the initiative. They described the training as transformative, saying it had broadened their knowledge and equipped them with practical skills that would positively influence their entrepreneurial ventures.

The "Bridging the Gap" project is being implemented by the Centre for Advancing Rural Opportunity (CARO) in the Upper West Region with support from the Global Community Engagement and Resilience Fund (GCERF) and the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana).

CARO says the intervention is expected to improve livelihoods, strengthen peaceful coexistence and build more resilient communities capable of resisting violent extremism.