The Micro-Finance Department of the Agona Rural Bank has disbursed a total of 1,614,500 Ghana Cedis to 90 women's groups in the Central and Eastern Regions.

The decision of the bank was to empower the women financially to improve their small-scale businesses and also reduce abject poverty confronting women in rural areas.

Mr Ben Amosah, Acting General Manager of the Bank who made this known to the press at Agona Kwanyako on Friday, said the 90 groups consisted of 1,834 women in 45 communities of the two regions.

He said the Micro-Finance Department started the disbursement of the loan facility in May 2013 at Asamankese in the West Akyem and Agona West and East Districts.

According to Mr Amosah, the bank has organized capacity-building workshops in book-keeping and other financial management practices for the women in order for them to use the facility prudently.

He said 13 more women groups are currently undertaking capacity-training workshops before the loan facility is disbursed to them.

The Acting General Manager said Management of the bank has provided a substantial budgetary allocation within the 2013/2014 fiscal year to assist more women groups in the catchment areas of the bank.

He said the loan recovery from the women had not been a problem to the bank because the prompt payment of the loans by the women groups had inspired the management of the bank to offer more financial support to them, adding that women were capable of paying the loan promptly when such assistance are offered them.

The Acting General Manager said other customers in agriculture, cottage industry, transport, the construction industry, and other high profile businesses, have also received substantial loan facilities from the bank to expand their businesses.