The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mrs. Kosi Yankey Ayeh has stated that approximately 200 thousand Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (MSME’s) have been targeted to benefit from the proposed 600 million Ghana Cedis by government. This she said is to boost the industry in the wake of the Covid19 pandemic.
According to her, the money which will be ready next week will be given out as loans with an interest rate of 5%.
“We have targeted approximately 200 thousand businesses from sectors including hospitality and tourism, agriculture, healthcare, private education, as well as traders; and we are giving the money out as concessionary loans with an interest rate of 5% to make things easier for them”, she said.
On March 12, 2020, President Akufo-Addo in his address to the nation on the fight against Covid19 announced that, government in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Industries, Business (NBSSI), Trade Associations and some selected Commercial and Rural Banks will roll out a soft loan scheme up to a total of six hundred million Ghana cedis to cushion small and medium scale businesses in the country.
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According to Mrs. Ayeh, this is an emergency aid for small and medium scale businesses struggling to survive the grips of Covid19 and not to expand or build new businesses.
“The money is not meant for large enterprises but to help boost the businesses of small and medium enterprises and to also train them on how to sustain their businesses in this period”, she added.
Mrs. Ayeh further stated that there will be monitoring and evaluation by the participating financial institutions that would be giving out the loans.
She said there will be a follow up by the NBSSI together with the various associations and trade groups to ascertain how the money will be put to use.
SOURCE: Lydia Sekyi-Acquah/ATL FM NEWS
