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.