President John Dramani Mahama has officially launched the Upper West Shea Park Resource Hub, a major agro-industrial initiative aimed at transforming Ghana’s shea industry through domestic processing and value addition.

The hub, designed as an integrated agro-industrial ecosystem, will host modern shea processing facilities, quality control laboratories, training centres, solar-powered energy solutions, and export facilitation services to boost competitiveness in both local and international markets.

Speaking at the launch ceremony on Saturday, January 31, 2026, at the Palace of the Wa Naa, President Mahama said the project marks a decisive shift from the export of raw materials to value-added production. He disclosed that the initiative is expected to empower more than 7,000 women in the Upper West Region while creating thousands of jobs for young people.

“Women are not the beneficiaries of this project; they are the foundation of this project,” the president stressed.

He explained that beyond shea, the resource hub will serve as an anchor for value chains linked to other agricultural products, including groundnuts, soya beans, sorghum, cotton, and honey, helping to expand agro-processing opportunities across the region.

President Mahama also announced that 3,000 pairs of wellington boots and 3,200 gloves have already been distributed to shea nut pickers. The protective gear, he said, is intended to safeguard women from snake and scorpion bites during harvesting activities.

On financing, the president revealed that government is advancing plans to establish a Women’s Bank under the leadership of the Vice President, Prof Naana Jane Opoku-Agyemang. He said the bank is close to submitting its structure and objectives to Cabinet and will focus on supporting women working in the shea industry across the northern regions.

According to him, the bank will provide seasonal credit during the shea picking season, enabling women to access deeper parts of the bush for harvesting.

“They will be given money so that, as cooperatives, they can hire tricycles to take them further into the bush,” he explained.

The tricycles will also transport the women and their harvest back, reducing the burden of carrying heavy loads on their heads.

The Shea Park, President Mahama noted, forms part of a broader government policy to ensure that Ghana processes its raw materials locally before export. He cited agreements and ongoing efforts in other sectors, including a deal between the Gold Board and Gold Coast Refineries to process one tonne of gold weekly, as well as steps by the Ghana Manganese Company to process manganese domestically.

“We can pick the nuts, we can process the nuts, and we can make the finished products,” he said.

The president further stated that the Shea Park aligns with the government’s 24-hour economy initiative. The facility will operate across multiple shifts in processing, logistics, quality control, packaging, and distribution, creating round-the-clock employment opportunities.

He added that the project will also help address youth migration from the northern regions by creating decent jobs locally.

“By creating decent jobs here at home, we’re tackling one of the root causes of migration and economic dislocation in the northern part of Ghana,” President Mahama noted.