A grant award contract was signed today by the Ghana Enterprise Agency with Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to disburse more than 20 million cedis under the second phase of the COVID-19 Response Grant programme.
The programme, under the World Bank Ghana Economic Transformation Project, is expected to spur the economic recovery of SMEs, and provide liquidity and support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enable them to adjust and grow out of the COVID-19 crisis in selected sectors of the economy.
The nationwide grant programme, with an additional grant size.of GHC38 million, will focus on SMEs with a strong focus on Ghanaians export and export oriented firms.
The project in the first phase disbursed GHS28.7 million to more than 370 SMEs between September 2021 to March 2022 with 158 women owned businesses as beneficiaries.
Beneficiaries of the GEA SME Grant programme have also created a minimum of 134 new permanent and 156 casual jobs within the period.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprise Agency Mrs.Kosi Yankey-Ayeh said the goal of the Grant programme was to ensure that businesses were resilient and ready to help transform the economy.
She said the programme was designed to try and strengthen Ghana’s economy, buid industries and strengthen the business ecosystem so that it would stand the test of time to deal with any shocks or challenges.
She said the government’s agenda was to support MSMSs and to also strengthen women owned businesses.
To her, she is always available to ensure that you grow your business,transform them and you’re able to also employ other people so utilised the funds well” she said.
The second phase of the intervention was targeting about 400 small, and medium enterprises to give them support to sustain and grow their business.
To the Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah Adjei, she said government’s resolve to support SMEs to recover from the devastating socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
The grant signing ceremony, I can say I’m happy to witness a new set of SMEs being given grants to support them to recover”, she said.
The Ghana Enterprise Agency is an agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, is one of the key Technical Implementing Agencies (TIAs) through which the World Bank Funded Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP)……Story by Bugbila Moadow.
,
