Opoku-Agyemang said the committee tasked with setting up the bank had completed its work and submitted the application through the Ministry of Finance.
She disclosed this at the Business and Financial Times’ 15th Ghana Economic Forum in Accra, where she outlined the institution’s intended role in addressing barriers to credit faced by women, particularly those operating in the informal sector.
President John Dramani Mahama announced in March that his administration was in the final stages of establishing the bank.
“We therefore constituted a dedicated committee that brought together market women, susu collectors, representatives of women’s business associations, financial sector professionals and other key stakeholders,” Opoku-Agyemang said.
She said the institution’s framework had been developed with input from women traders and entrepreneurs.
“My conviction has always been that an institution established to serve women must be shaped by the experiences, aspirations and everyday realities of those very women,” she said.
The Vice-President said the bank would operate differently from conventional commercial lenders, bringing financial services closer to women whose businesses often struggle to secure affordable credit.
Women manage almost 60 per cent of micro-establishments but less than 10 per cent of large enterprises, she said, citing Ghana Statistical Service data.
“This bank is not meant to be just another financial institution. It is conceived as a last-mile bank designed to bring financial services closer to the women whose enterprise and hard work sustain our markets and local economies,” she said.
The specialised lender is a flagship campaign pledge of the governing National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the 2024 elections.
The government allocated GH¢450 million as initial capital for the project in the 2026 budget, following the incorporation of WDB Ghana Limited in January 2026.
Foreign Affairs Minister Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa announced in October that Canada had pledged technical support for the initiative.
The bank is expected to target women-owned businesses, particularly small-scale traders and entrepreneurs who face difficulties accessing finance from conventional lenders.
