Trade Ministry study SMEs policies

Government says it is studying all Small and Medium-Scale Enterprises (SME) policies and documents

John Gyetuah, Deputy Minister, Trade and Industry, explained that government is embarking on interventions to assist, nurture and grow businesses in the SMEs sector to provide world-class services in the development of the country.

He disclosed that some of the interventions include strengthening the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) and provision of special incentives for venture capital companies to lend to SMEs and restructuring the Export Development and Investment Fund (EDIF) to be more accessible to the SME sector.

SMEs have potential benefits, covering about 80 percent of the country’s economic activities and 70 percent of its employment, which promotes and grows the economy of the country as a whole

Mr. Gyetuah making a presentation in Accra said: “Most of the SMEs hardly grow. Neither the micro nor informal ones grow into the formal or to the small-scale sector. In most cases, the small-scale ones hardly migrate into the large enterprises - not even into the medium-scale sector.

“Some companies started as small family enterprises and gradually grew into giant companies through various interventions by government, the private sector, and in some cases the civil society.”

He indicated that the country’s SME sector plays a pivotal role in creating dynamic, market-oriented economic growth, employing the growing work force, alleviating poverty, creating/widening the tax revenue base and promoting socio-economic as well as political stability.

The Deputy Minister observed that the growth of the sector has stagnated due to lack of access to funding and long-term lending, high bank interest rates, lack of collateral to secure loans, lack of entrepreneurial skills, and lack of appropriate and affordable technology.

“There is the need for attitudinal change on the part of Ghanaian SME operators, and conscious efforts should be made to encourage the vision to grow their enterprises and not to be satisfied with marginal growth.

“An effective public-private partnership to find ways of addressing the problems faced by SMEs need to be adopted,”he stressed.