For training and capacity building of high-growth micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) owned by women and young people, the government has established a GH100 million grant financing project.
The initiatives will provide GH40 million in grants for women-owned MSMES and GH60 million to young people between the ages of 18 and 35 as part of the Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP), which is sponsored and funded by the World Bank and the government.
In announcing its launch, the Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. Kobina Tahir Hammond, said the initiatives were in line with the government's plan to support businesses in scaling up and moving MSMEs into the next stage of growth, improving their capacity to boost sales and start exporting.
He said that the initiatives gave the management and board of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) yet another chance to support young Ghanaian entrepreneurs and women in the MSME sector as they work to expand their enterprises sustainably.
We anticipate that GEA will continue to excel in the usage of digital platforms and offer thorough assistance through its vast network of business development service providers. We also anticipate that this will be carried out with extra caution to protect long-term commercial interests," he said.
Mr. Hammond said that in order to expand access to new markets for the nation's goods and services, the government will intensify its efforts with international, regional, and bilateral partners.
"The initiatives are yet another milestone under the GET Project to make economic growth inclusive and expand the benefits of growth in terms of job creation as well as enhanced social and gender equity," he stated.
Fortunately, digital technology is expanding prospects for international trade at a rate that was unimaginable only two decades ago, the speaker noted.
As the minister of trade and industry, he said, "I am pleased to be associated with this intervention that seeks to create an opportunity for the youth and women of this nation to receive the needed support to strengthen their MSMEs at a time when economic transformation and stabilization have become a clarion call."
In order for implementing agencies to be responsive to the needs of the private sector, particularly SMEs, in leveraging opportunities, including market access opportunities like the African Continental Free Trade Area, he said the Ministry would continue to develop and strengthen the institutional and policy mechanisms.
Between September 2021 and December 2022, the GEA successfully awarded GHS 66 million to over 800 SMEs as part of the COVID-19 Response Grant Program and a supplemental program created for SME High Growth.
The Youth in MSME Programme, according to Mrs. Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, CEO of the Ghana Enterprises Agency, aims to give grants and capacity development to young people-owned enterprises to promote more start-ups by young people.
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