Enhancing rural Ghanaian women’s economic empowerment: the cassava dough enterprise

Abstract

ABSTRACT Grounded in a qualitative case study design and relying on key informant interviews and focus group discussion, this study assesses the influence of the cassava dough enterprise on women’s economic empowerment in a rural Ghanaian community. Women in the study community are marginalised in accessing arable land, which is a critical livelihood asset. Cassava dough processing, which is a women-dominated activity, has become an alternative and lucrative business for women. Women's engagement in cassava dough processing is driven by myriad factors that are rooted in their sociocultural settings and gender norms. Women engaged in cassava dough processing and sales have enhanced their economic empowerment through increased access to regular income, improved financial autonomy and saving behaviour, and contributed to community development. The study recommends the need to prioritise policies, programs, and interventions that create an enabling environment for community-based women’s economic empowerment strategies in poor and vulnerable communities.