The government has placed GH¢26.4 million grant (6.7 million Euros at the prevailing rate of GH¢3.94 for €1) at the disposal of Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) to help them finance their operations.
The grant, which comes at a time when interest rates on bank facilities are surging, will provide a cheaper source of funding for SMEs under the Ghana Private Sector Development Facility Project which is being supported by the Italian government.
Consequently, the government, in a non-partisan manner, has invited interested companies to apply for the facility which is expected to help them realise their full potential.
The then Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Iddrisu, announced this at a press briefing on May 30,2014. He said the government had received a soft loan of GH¢86.68 million (€22 million) from the Italian government out of which GH¢34.9 million (€10 million) was earmarked for the SME sector.
Already, eight local companies have received GH¢13 million (€3.3 million) of the amount with the remaining GH¢26.4 million (€6.7 million) still available for other SMEs that meet the eligibility criteria.
