MORE than 81,000 women in the North­ern Region have been empowered through the Inclu­sive Shea Sourcing and Tricycle Support Programme initiated by Nuts for Growth (N4G), an Agro Processing Company operating in Tamale, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Ms Dora Haborsutei Torwiseh, has disclosed.She said the company was still committed to engaging more women in their shea nut val­ue chain operations across the countryNuts for Growth (N4G) was established 12 years ago and has evolved to become one of West Africa's largest women-led oil seed processing companies in the country.Ms Torwiseh made this known when the Director in charge of Presidential Initiatives in Agri­culture and Agribusiness (PIAA) at the office of the President, Dr Peter Bramah Otokunor, paid a working visit to the company here on Tuesday.She said they operated a state-of-the-art shea butter processing facility with a capacity of 450 metric tons per day and supported by a 300 metric tons per day of kernel crushing line.The CEO added that the company robust raw material supply was sustained by a dynamic network of women across its shea value chain."Nuts for Growth (N4G) is a woman-led driver of industrial transformation in Ghana's agricul­tural sector," she stated.She indicated that their bold ex­pansion plans aligned with the 24- hour economy and they aimed to employ 900 people daily, train 200 youth annually, and achieve $500m in turnover within five years.The CEO also added that they were strengthening local sourcing and youth aggregation hub by add­ing value shea plant and refinery of the company."By shifting from raw exports to high-value processing, N4G is set to grow exports by 40 per cent, unlock $50M+ in foreign exchange annually, and deliver inclusive," the CEO noted.She, however, appealed to the government to take more interest into the initiatives of the company to support them to empower more women and youth in the country, especially the northern part of the countryFor his part, Dr Otokunor, also explained that the shea industry was one the vital instrument that would help drive the export mar­ket and the economic fundamen­tals of the country."We are indeed impressed, heav­ily impressed by the kind of heavy investments Madame Dura has done under the Nuts for Growth Company limited," he mentioned.He said the government was willing to support the company to scale up production to attract more investors into the company for the youth to benefit in terms of job creation.Dr Otokunor added that under the 24-hour economy, they would put the company into the 24-hour production that would give the company the capacity to employ over 12,000 people when running 24 hours.Moreover, he told the CEO that because of the success of the company in shea value chain in Ghana and West Africa, the PIAA office, together with the Savannah Golden Tree Company Limited, was partnering to host the second World Share Expo in Northern Region.FROM YAHAYA NUHU NADAA,DUUYIN