Tuesday, August 24, 2010

GroFin welcomes cash-starved SMEs

Mr. Mathias Dorfe, the Country Manager for Growth Finance (GroFin), has observed that most small and medium businesses fail to operate in the country because of lack of appropriate types of financing and adequate management expertise of entrepreneurs.

“Most Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) businesses fail because they lack the appropriate type of financing and adequate management expertise of entrepreneurs. Even those SME businesses that are doing well can no doubt do better with appropriate management support services,” he said.

The SMEs constitute over 85 percent of businesses in the country, but are being hampered by the adoption of inefficient technologies, poor management, inadequate working capital, high interest rates and low margins, and limited access to banks and other financial institutions.

Mr. Dorfe speaking at a media interaction in Accra as part of the company’s entry into the country’s SMEs financing market, aimed at empowering small businesses to grow through access to financing and capacity building programmes.

He revealed that GroFin has so far assisted 185 businesses across Africa with finance totalling US$72 million.

“At GroFin, we work in a friendly yet professional way, always championing the needs of small and medium business. GroFin goes the extra mile to tailor-make a solution in line with your needs. At the core of our finance solution is a fair risk-reward relationship between you and GroFin. By providing you with detailed business planning, cash flow analysis and financial forecasting, we not only assist you in identifying and mitigating your business risk; we are also able to create a finance solution that reflects both the cash flow and risk profile of your business.

“We support committed entrepreneurs in the country looking to start a new business or grow their existing business further, and consider the financial needs of each business in its entirety. We do not have a specific sector focus and welcome business opportunities in the service, commercial and manufacturing sectors of all industries - including franchises.

“GroFin does not use a standard interest rate. Instead, each unique need will be matched to a unique finance solution and will take into consideration the development stage of your business, the projected cash flow and profitability, the risk involved, your own capital contribution and any collateral you may be able to provide,” Mr. Dorfe said.

Anthony Annan, Business Development Manager, GroFin, explained that the company‘s objective is influenced by its passion for delivering long-term finance solutions and expert support designed to meet the growth needs of the SMEs.

“Ghanaians will find us different from most other financial institutions in the sense that we consider all entrepreneurs for finance, including start-up businesses. We focus primarily on the credibility of the entrepreneurs and viability of the business. We structure our facilities in accordance with the cash flow potential of the business while we provide business support services which help to mitigate the risks involved in the business. Our support services are designed to enhance the chances for success of the entrepreneur we finance.

“Our local business managers draw on the collective knowledge of a pool of experts across the six other African countries in which we operate to deliver local solutions that meet the growth needs of your business,” said Mr. Annan.

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