The government has encouraged the public to apply for technical and financial support through the Small and Medium Enterprises Growth and Opportunity (SME Go) programme.

The government reaffirmed its position that SMEs were the engine for growth and placing priority on them could transform the nation and make the economy robust and fit for purpose.

Business enterprises are to visit the website on www.sme-go.mofep.gov.gh

Mrs Abena Osei Asare, Minister of State, Finance Ministry, said this at a stakeholder sensitisation on the SME Go programme in Accra.

The government, through the Ministries of Finance and Trade and Industry in August 2024, launched the SME Go Programme to boost the growth of SME sector.

The initiative aims to provide coordinated financial and technical support to high-growth potential SMEs, driving economic growth and development.

The Minister said the government had engaged 3,250 SMEs across the 15 regions and consulted with stakeholders to design selection criteria and financing instruments tailored to meet the needs of high-growth potential SMEs.

She said all the regions visited, the government had confirmed that SMEs were the backbone of regional and local economies and spurred economic growth and expansion.

“We also believed that with deliberate and targeted interventions, the potential of SMEs could be unleashed to anchor the recovery and transformation of our economy,” he said.

The government supports the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and Ghana Exim Bank with a total of 700 million cedis, while Development Bank Ghana committed about 1.2 billion cedis to support SMEs, and the International Finance Corporation committed to supporting SMEs with 400 million dollars through financial institutions.

She said growth had been robust, averaging 4.7 percent in the first quarter of 2024, led by the industry sector, which grew at 6.8 percent, higher than the 3.1 percent that was recorded over the same period last year.

“The country’s fiscal position has significantly improved, and we are broadly on course to record a positive primary balance of 0.5 percent of Gross Domestic Product in 2024,” he said.

Mrs Asare said the government was intentional in accelerating the macroeconomic reforms to improve the fiscal indicator.

“From September 24, we will engage our IMF partners on the third review of the programme and we are confident that the assessment will once again confirm that we have staged a course and performed well on all our key indicators,” he said.

Mr Eric Anthony Affram, Acting Director, Financial Support Services, GEA, said the Agency would provide small grants and loans of up to two years of highly subsidised rates to SMEs for growth.

He added that the Ghana Exim Bank would also be supported with GHC500 million to offer SMEs highly subsidised financial support.