When Racheal Addin received a call inviting her to a bookkeeping and financial literacy training, she did not hesitate. “I was very happy when I heard about the training,” she recalls. ” I had to be there, learn, and use what I’d gain for my future.”
Like many smallholder farmers in Pokrom, Ghana’s Eastern Region, Addin worked hard to grow her business. But like many entrepreneurs, she faced a challenge that had nothing to do with farming itself. She struggled to keep track of her money. Income from the farm often blended with household expenses, making it difficult to know whether her business was truly growing. She was not alone.
Most of the 20 participants who gathered at the Hephzibah Christian Center for Ashesi Nkabom Collaborative‘s three-day Bookkeeping and Financial Literacy Training had never received formal financial management training. Some relied entirely on memory to keep track of sales and expenses. Others admitted that families frequently consumed business income before they had a chance to reinvest it. Several had experienced mobile money fraud or lacked confidence using digital financial tools.
For many, farming had always been viewed as a way to make ends meet rather than as a business that required planning, budgeting, and investment. Through demonstrations, role plays, storytelling, and discussions conducted primarily in Twi, participants learned how to separate business income from household finances. They learned to record daily transactions using simple pictorial tools, plan for seasonal income fluctuations, and build consistent saving habits. The program was designed to be accessible for participants with limited literacy and two participants living with disabilities.
One key lesson for Richard Nortey was discovering that financial discipline is not determined by how much money someone earns. The lesson reflected one of the program’s core messages: sustainable businesses are built not only on increasing income, but on developing habits that protect and grow it.
