The National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), has asked applicants of governments COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) called the ‘Nkosuo’ Programme to make sure they do not pay any fee for the application process.

The Board in a statement said it has received reports that some Ghanaians are paying to apply for the programme launched in collaboration with the MasterCard Foundation despite cautions it has issued earlier.

According to the Board, no middleman or agent has been appointed to assist applicants with the process and has thus emphasized that it is unacceptable for any person to assume that role, let alone to charge applicants for same.

The NBSSI further asked applicants who may face any challenge in the process of filing their application to report their issue to its business advisory units in the various districts for help.

The GHC90 million ‘Nkosuo’ programme was launched on Wednesday, September 16, 2020, to support MSME’s, as well as start-up businesses which have been affected by the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Executive Officer for NBSSI, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, has described the programme as timely and said it will bring MSMME’s hope as well as serve as an opportunity to accelerate the growth of businesses.