Accra, Feb. 16, GNA - The International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm of the World Bank Group, on Friday signed a linkages cooperation agreement with Newmont Ghana Gold Limited to collaborate on supporting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Brong Ahafo Region.

The SME linkages programme is part of IFC's work with Newmont Ghana Gold on the Ahafo mine.

A statement signed by Dr Chris Anderson, Director, Corporate and External Affairs, said in July 2006, IFC signed a loan of 125 million dollars to the mine to support Ghana's mining sector, working with Newmont to help raise environmental standards and ensure that local communities benefited from the project.

Dr Anderson said the programme would also place a special emphasis on supporting women entrepreneurs and would incorporate HIV/AIDS into its training activities through the IFC Gender Entrepreneurship markets and the IFC Against AIDS programmes.

Mr Thierry Tanoh, IFC's Director for sub-Saharan Africa said: "IFC is very pleased to partner with Newmont in this joint endeavour to create and bring direct benefit for the communities in and around the Ahafo mine area.

He said the mine was generating demand for the wide variety of goods and services and the linkages programme would focus on creating opportunities for local businesses to respond to demand.

The statement said, with the funding from both IFC and Newmont, the three linkages programme would have three primary goals which would support the development of local businesses and to develop potential supplies and providers of goods and services to the mine.

The rest are to improve the competitiveness of local non-mining businesses, which would help develop a diversified local economy outside of the mining sector and to develop and improve the capacity of local business associations and institutions that can provide long-term sustainable business support, training and other services to the local business community.

Mr David Baker, Newmont's Vice President for Environmental Affairs and Sustainable Development, said one of our most basic objectives was to initiate the enhancement of the local economic opportunity process early in the mine life to allow for years of development in this area. "This partnership is an important step in creating long-term value within the communities around our operations," he added.