Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Financing Fair launched in Accra

By Elizabeth Baah Arkoful  

A Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Financing Fair was launched in Accra yesterday on the theme: "SME Financing in Ghana-Enhancing Access and Reducing Costs".
The two-day fair, scheduled to take place from 16th to 17th March at the Accra International Conference Center, is aimed finding a lasting solution to the challenges confronting SMEs and also expose them to the innovative financing mechanisms in the country.
It is being organised by the Office of the Minister for Private Sector Development and Public-Private-Partnership (PPP), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) and the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC).
At the media launch of the fair, Mr. Rashid Pelpuo, Minister of State in-charge of Private Sector Development and PPP, said a pre-event engagement with stakeholders to seek their support and commitments for the fair, was slated for February 2, at the Flagstaff House.
He said President John Mahama would open the fair, adding that, there would be for and exhibitions to create the platform to bring together all stakeholders in the financing value chain of SMEs.
Mr. Pelpuo mentioned that the SME Financing Fair sought to reduce the cost of information asymmetry and its attendant effects by bringing the banks, non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), government agencies and multilateral agencies and SMEs together, in order to bridge the financial intermediation gap.
Mr. Pelpuo said the fair would present an opportunity not only for participants to examine how the cost of financing for SMEs could be reduced, but how SMEs could benefit from existing and future private and public support mechanisms in the country.
He said SMEs were a major pillar to the economy constituting over 90 per cent of businesses registered in the country.
According to him, MOTI estimated that SMEs comprised over 160,000 registered limited liability companies and over 350,000 registered sole enterprises and reiterated government's commitment to create the enabling environment for SMEs to grow.
Mr. Ibrahim Muntala, Deputy Minister for MOTI, said the fair would create the needed trust between SMEs and financial institutions and lead to greater access to capital to expand their businesses and help in job creation in the country.
He, therefore, urged all SMEs to participate in the fair to improve on the economic growth of the country.

Unlocking The Potentials of African Youth.

As I stood by the clock one afternoon, I asked myself, what I have done in the pasted time, how productive  I have being, but there was nothing to point to.

It is amazing how time passes without our notice. We live on a continent where youth are confused and ignorant about how precious time is to extracting the very last potentials in us. We all have potentials, a distinct one of course, but how effective and productive are these potentials contributing to the growth of our continent.  90% of our(your) time is spent on unproductive and useless things, places, etc. We are breaking the 80/20 principle. The remaining 10%, only God knows. Are we that weak?

If only we could be more productive with our time by exploiting our potentials, our continent will be a better place to live . Discover the real you, hit your code, preserve, be confident and work hard, because if you fail, 1000s fail.

African Youth Journal
Adu-Ansere daniel

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ONE OF THE GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEES.

Guantanamo Bay detainee file on Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef, US9YM-000202DP, passed to the Telegraph by Wikileaks

Name: Mahmoud Omar Muhammad Bin Atef

ISN: US9YM-000202DP

Time in Gitmo: 9 years, 3 months, 4 days

Released?: No

Nationality: Yemen

Date of birth: 01/01/1979

Place of birth: Mecca, Saudi Arabia

Release date:

Arrest date:

Arrest location:

Arrested by:

Captured by US date:

Arrived at Guantanamo: 01/21/2002

Memo date: 12/28/2007

DETAINEES SUMMARY: The Detainee is assessed to be a fighter in Usama Bin Laden?s (UBL) former 55th Arab Brigade and is an admitted member of the Taliban. Detainee participated in hostilities against US and Coalition forces and continues to CLASSIFIED(S) demonstrate his support of UBL and extremism.

The Detainee accepted recruitment and facilitation from a known al-Qaida member in Saudi Arabia, and acknowledged traveling to Afghanistan (AF) to participate in jihadist combat. He is assessed to have stayed at al-Qaida and Taliban guesthouses and admitted receiving militant training at the al-Qaida al-Faruq Training Camp.

The Detainees name was found on an al-Qaida affiliated document, and he has threatened to kill US citizens on multiple occasions including a specific threat to cut their throats upon his release.

Health: The Detainee is in overall good health.

Threat to US: HIGH

Intelligence value:MEDIUM

Detention risk: HIGH

Recommendation: Continued detention under DoD control

Source : Telegraph