The $10 million Ghana Tourism Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Grant has been introduced by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to help participants in the hotel and creative arts sectors improve and grow their companies.
The programme, a World Bank-funded government of Ghana effort, would help 1,500 SMEs engaged in the sector modernise and enhance tourist attractions, dining establishments, tour companies, event planners, and allied enterprises to become more appealing and competitive.
Categories
President Akufo-Addo explained the reasoning behind the funding and stated it will fall under three categories: site upgrading, COVID-19 relief help, and SME support.
These, he added, "are designed to assist in the transformation of the tourist sector to drive economic growth and generate jobs." He said that in 2021, the government gave around 1,400 SMEs the equivalent of $10 million in Ghana cedi through the Ministry of Tourism, Arts, and Culture.
Women
The President stated that as women make up the majority of business owners in the tourist and creative arts industries, 60% of them will be the recipients of the new grant.
"We continue to cherish the collaboration of the World Bank in our development path," he said after thanking the World Bank for sponsoring the effort through the Ghana Tourism Development Project.
According to him, the Ghana Tourist Authority was training 10,000 people in the tourism value chain as part of the Ghana Cares Obaatanpa Program to develop their critical customer service delivery abilities.
Successful businesses
The government, according to President Akufo-Addo, will continue to be accountable for fostering an atmosphere that is conducive to corporate success.
But he went on to say that it was the responsibility of the private sector to make sure that its companies were properly organised and run in line with the rules of good corporate governance.
"This is because policies that strive to bridge holes in inadequate corporate governance systems are crucial to creating vibrant economies," he added. "Good corporate governance is key to changing business organisations in frontier and developing countries."
Despite the fact that certain firms in the nation had prospered as a result of excellent corporate governance, he said that many enterprises had failed as a consequence of weak corporate governance, which was listed as a significant contributing reason.
The President stated that Ghanaian firms should be led by the reality that investors were willing to pay a premium for shares in well-governed enterprises as they fought worldwide to attract foreign investment partnerships.
Tourism, according to Dr. Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, Minister of Tourism, Arts, and Culture, is essential to the Akufo-Addo administration's plan for change.
In that sense, he declared, the government would keep up its diligent efforts to see to it that the industry received the proper policies and assistance to turn things around.
He said that by doing so, the sector will contribute more to the growth of the nation by generating more income, jobs, and foreign cash.
Awal's direction
One of the most spectacular initiatives in terms of performance during the previous year, according to World Bank Country Director Pierre Frank Laporte, was the project for the growth of the tourist industry.
That, he said, was mostly because of "Dr. Awal's energy and devotion."
He remarked, "I must say that in the years I have been at the World Bank, I don't believe having seen a project in so much difficulties and turned around in the little period of one year and now disbursing this amount."
According to Mr. Laporte, the project was reorganised in June of this year to create place for another SME award worth $10 million. The bank anticipated that the project would attract substantial public interest and tourists.