The government has committed GH¢8.2 billion to cushion the private sector, Andrew Cudjo Ameckson, the Head, Banking and Non-Banking Unit, Financial Sector Division of the Ministry of Finance has announced.

He said the fund was under the implementation of the Small and Medium Enterprises Growth and Opportunity (SMEs GO) programme to provide technical and financial support to the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Ghana EXIM BANK and the Development Bank Ghana (DBG), the implementers.

Mr Ameckson gave the announcement during a stakeholder’s sensitization forum organized by the GEA for private businesses and entrepreneurs in Sunyani to highlight the benefits of the SME GO and how beneficiaries could access the financial assistance under the programme, attended by business entrepreneurs, artisanal workers, farmers and petty traders.

He explained the SMEs GO programme was a joint initiative of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Finance to break the barriers to SMEs growth and strengthen their operational capacity and position them well to contribute significantly to economic and sustainable development.

The programme is designed to optimize public policies in favour of SMEs through structural reforms on the medium-term where the implementers would provide financial and equipment support for the SMEs.

Mr Ameckson said beneficiaries would leverage the SME GO to grow and make their business model and operations more resilient, thereby contributing to strengthening of the private sector. Consequently, the SME GO programme targets interventions that support the government’s goal of creating “SMEs champions” that can take Ghanaian products and innovations globally.

Madam Justina Owusu-Banahene, the Bono Regional Minister expressed appreciation to President Nana Akufo-Addo’s government for the commitment to spur private sector growth in the country by providing tailored financial products and services to support the SMEs.

Ultimately, the government views the SMEs GO programme as a significant step towards building a future economy shaped by enterprises and innovations, where business-oriented individuals and groups can realise their ideas and build and expand businesses that would eventually create jobs and reduce poverty.

As a hub of entrepreneurial activities, Mad Owusu-Banahene said the programme would spur rapid economic growth and development in the Bono Region and create thriving job opportunities for the youth in the region.

She called on the SME GO programme managers to consider extending the programme to benefit micro businesses too.