The growing importance of alternative competitive sources of financing especially for Small and Medium Scaled Enterprises SMEs continues to receive greater attention from business groups and private sector players.

With the relatively high average lending rate of the commercial Banks in the country borrowing from the banks to finance such businesses and start ups is said to be unsustainable.

To this end the United States Agency for International Development USAID through the US Government's Feed the Future Financing Ghanaian Agriculture Project (FINGAP) has organised a workshop on leveraging the capital market to drive business growth for enhanced economic development" in Accra.

The workshop was attended by over 100 members of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, GNCCI, the Association of Ghana Industries AGI, the Federation of Association of Ghanaian Exporters, the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists IFEJ and representatives of the Kosmos Energy Innovation Center.

The workshop took participants through the benefits of listing securities on the the Ghana Stock Exchange, the Ghana Alternative Market GAX and the Ghana Fixed Income Market GFIM.

Speaking to Business News the Acting Chief of Party USAID FinGAP, Dr. Victor Antwi said the workshop which would be replicated in Kumasi and Takoradi is aimed at supporting indigenous businesses to access long term financing to grow steadily.

He said it is expected that by the end of the first quarter of next year, at least 30 more SMEs will list on the GAX.

The CEO of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Mark Badu Aboagye encouraged SMEs to take advantage of the enormous benefits of the GAX to initiate the process of listing.

President of the Institute of Financial and Economic Journalists IFEJ Rayborn Bulley asked new and existing local entrepreneurs to seek to expand and sustain their businesses beyond themselves through partnerships and listing on the Ghana Stock Exchange or any of its subsidiaries.

Up to date, the USAID FinGAP has facilitated over 158 million dollars in finance to over 2800 agribusiness SMEs with at least 10 million dollars coming from capital and private equity firms.