Women entrepreneurs face financing hurdles in agriculture, FAO program offers solutions

Augustina Tufuor, a 30-year-old entrepreneur from Ghana, founded Tropical Snacks to produce all-natural plantain chips. However, despite her success, she struggled to expand her business due to financial barriers. Traditional banks required her to deposit 20,000 Cedis as collateral and hire a professional evaluator before even considering her loan request. Additionally, she faced a steep interest rate of over 36%, making growth nearly…