The GHS 600 million stimulus package under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support scheme (CAP BuSS) which initially had a 5% interest rate has been reviewed downward to 3%.
The Executive Director of National Board for Small Scale Industries, Kosi Yankey Ayeh who announced the review said government settled on the downward review due to the plight of Ghanaians in the wake of the economic challenges the coronavirus pandemic has brought along.
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Kosi Yankey Ayeh, made the announcement of the reduction when she took her turn at the Ministry of Information press briefing on Thursday.
“Initially, we suggested 5% but the President in consultation with the team (minister of finance and minister of trade and industries) decided to review that interest rate due to the plight of Ghanaians’ MSMEs at a time such as this to 3%,” she said.
Kosi Yankey Ayeh also indicated that companies with over 99 employees were not eligible for the soft loans.
“Any enterprise or business that falls outside the range of 99 employees is not qualified for this intervention.”
The President of the Republic, Nana Akufo-Addo, on Tuesday 19TH May, 2020 launched the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support scheme (CAP BuSS) to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) and various industries in the country.
He believed that the programme will resuscitate the country’s affected industries and address the economic disruption caused by the pandemic in the country.
The programme is estimated to attract 180, 000 beneficiaries across the country under the GHS 600 billion stimulus package.
The Minister of Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, on his part, has assured government’s commitment in ensuring that Small and Medium Sized Enterprises will be vibrant and sustain the livelihood of Ghanaians.
NYORDI POULIWE/ATLFMNEWS
