A golden moment for Ghanaian SMEs – GEXIM Deputy CEO

The Government of Ghana through the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday 16th July 2024, launched a ground breaking initiative which sought to assist Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises to scale up and build their capacity to make them sustainable and compete favorably in the international marketplace. It is dubbed the Small and Medium-sized Enterprise (SME) Growth & Opportunity Programme or SME GO Programme.

The event was launched by the President of the Republic of Ghana, His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo at the Kempinski Hotel Gold Coast City Accra and attended by all key and relevant stakeholders in the SME, Banking and Finance sectors. On the sidelines of the event, I had an enlightening conversation with the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export – Import Bank responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer on the SME GO Programme, which she described as a “Golden Moment” for Ghanaian SMEs and affiliated sectors.

Available data by the Ministry of Finance indicate that Ghanaian SMEs account for 92% of existing companies, 85% of manufacturing jobs and 70% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Knowing its strategic importance to economic development, the Government is focused on developing a sustainable financing framework that allows for both public and private sectors to scale up financial and technical support towards Ghanaian SMEs.

In recent times, the world has experienced challenges and businesses were not spared. Unfortunately, SMEs are the hardest hit, with Ghanaian SMEs not an exception. Government is determined to address these challenges, particularly access to financing, which have become inimical to advancing broad-based SME development. Through the SME GO Programme, the Ministry of Finance aims to support the delivery of a robust SME financing programme that brings Ghana closer to its growth potential of approximately 5%.

The SME GO Programme offers targeted financial and technical support to high-growth potential SMEs to accelerate their growth by various interventions through short and medium term support through, including technical training and handholding support for beneficiaries, and optimizing public policies. The financial support package, with flexible financing options, is to enable businesses to obtain the necessary resources to scale their operations effectively.

Three state agencies have been selected as strategic partners for the implementation of the programme which is to help the Government to create a lasting initiative and also develop a permanent infrastructure to support SMEs and ensure a sustainable impact on the ecosystem. They are the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM), Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG).

The Ghana Enterprises Agency is to work closely with SMEs to assess their financing and capacity building requirements and provide targeted support. Leveraging its expertise and network, the Ghana Export – Import Bank will facilitate access to financial and technical services to meet the diverse needs of export ready SMEs. The Development Bank of Ghana is collaborating with the International Finance Corporation of the World Bank to work with participating financial institutions (PFIs) to launch a SME catalytic fund that will deliver larger multiples of finance required for SMEs to continue to scale their operations.

Technical assistance in the form of training and support is a key part of the SME GO Programme with the Ghana Export – Import Bank championing a collaboration with other agencies and stakeholders to set up an ultramodern Food Processing Pilot Plant in Accra, Ghana. This will help enterprises with manufacturing solutions by testing their production and scaling up ideas in a standardized food processing pilot plant.

The financial and technical support to be provided to SMEs through the dedicated funds created by each institution under the SME GO Programme is the first step towards strengthening the SME ecosystem with the introduction of transformative measures. In addition, regulatory and operational initiatives are being prepared to be enacted later when the immediate support required has been provided. The envisaged measures range from the creation of a one-stop-shop for SMEs to the design of business enclaves providing SMEs with fiscal incentives, financial resources and shared technology.

Ms. Archer concluded that it was her wish for Ghanaian SMEs across various sectors to prioritise value addition. A systematic approach to value chain development will result in the elimination of underlying causes of market underperformance, which is definitely going to be a game-changer. We now need to take a look at how our businesses can bring a product from the initial idea to its final market.

Why should we strengthen the value chain across sectors? This definitely holds the key to increasing profits and productivity for SMEs, and making them sustainable by withstanding disruptions at all times. Ultimately, this will also lead to an increased contribution to socio-economic development of Ghanaian SMEs.

(Source: Chris Koney)