The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) and the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG) have trained Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to increase their ability for sustainable business growth and resilience.
The training focused how SMEs’ difficulties in obtaining medium and long-term loan capital could be addressed by providing competitively priced loans to transform the market, industry, and economy.
Speaking to participants at the workshop on Thursday, Mr. Clement Osei Amoako, President of GNCCI, said both MSMEs and SMEs played significant roles in economic growth and development.
“This is because they account for more than 90 per cent of all registered businesses, account for 80 per cent of manufacturing jobs, and contribute roughly 70 per cent of Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product.”
These enterprises’ development and value, however, were comparatively less steady and more sensitive to market and economic cycles.
Mr. Amoako listed high capital costs, taxes, electricity costs, and collateral issues are some of the issues slowing the growth of SMEs. He also urged the government and stakeholders, including the GNCCI, to reevaluate policies and programs to give businesses the tools they need to successfully withstand shocks from the market, industry, and economy.
He said that the DBG should be used as an enabler for enterprises in Ghana and as a long-term capital provider in the market to solve the challenge of getting long-term capital despite the rising cost of doing business due to local and global shocks.
“To successfully qualify and participate in this programme, interested businesses should have registered with our respective branch chambers,” he said.
Mrs. Charis Maame Wilson, the Head of the DBG’s business development service, said that many SMEs had trouble accessing loan capital, especially medium- to long-term funding, and that, in accordance with World Bank data, 60% of loans in Ghana’s banking industry were short-term.
As a result, she said: “Development Bank Ghana, DBG, is here to provide the long-term funding that MSMEs’ need at a competitive price to promote and to ensure their growth and contribution to private sector development.”
Mrs Wilson said the DBG had identified enterprises that clearly demanded a lot of attention in the sectors of agribusiness, manufacturing, information and communication technology, as well as those that provided high-value services such as tourism, hospitality, health, and education as those that the bank would support.
“DBG’s intention is to work with as many banks as possible, including rural banks, but as at now, they would work with the banks on board who are represented officially as the Participating Financial Institutions.”
