The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization (SMIDO) has raised GH¢10 million through private syndication to transform Suame Magazine into a top-flight industrial estate.

About 1,000 acres of land had been acquired at Adubinso-kese in the Afigya-Kwabre District for the purpose. All is set for construction work to begin on phase one of the project and resettlement of artisans to the place is expected to begin during the last quarter of next year.

Mr Nyaaba-Aweeba Azongo, the Project Consultant, said diverse corporate financial players had been brought in to turn the place into an industrial showpiece. They have set up an Industrial Development Fund (SMID Fund), a mutual fund, to serve as a vehicle for the development of the magazine.

Speaking at the media launch of the fund at Adubinso-kese, he said provision had been made for a comprehensive private health insurance plan under which each artisan registered by the SMID Fund would receive an annual insurance cover of GH¢12,000.00.

Other packages include access to space and structures at the enclave, pension and life assurance, savings and investment plan as well as loans to grow their businesses. These, he said, are exclusively reserved for artisans and workers in fitting workshop clusters in the Kumasi metropolis.

Nana Dr Appiagyei Dankawoso I, Vice-President of the Ghana Chamber of Commerce who launched the Fund, commended the leadership of SMIDO for the initiative and described the arrangement as “one of the best financial models for the informal sector”.

He called on all stakeholders to work together to ensure its success, adding that the development of Suame Magazine and the success of the model would provide impetus to Ghana’s industrialization. Mr Sarpong Boateng, President of SMIDO, appealed to the artisans to embrace the SMID Fund since it remained the only guarantee to a secured future for them and their families.

Mr Seth Obiri, Managing Director of United Pension Trustees, the corporate managers of the SMID Fund, said they were proud to be part of the project. Oheneba Adusei Poku, the Akyempimhene who chaired the function, praised the leadership of SMIDO for the hard work and the good job they were doing.