ProCredit pledges more support to SMEs

ProCredit Savings and Loans Company Limited has pledged to deploy more tailor-made products and services to close the financing gap faced by the country’s Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The SME sector covers about 85% of the economic activities in the country. Last year, ProCredit’s SMEs portfolio was valued at GH¢9 million and hopes to double the amount in 2010.

ProCredit’s loans portfolio grew by more than 18 percent to GH¢26.4 million in 2008. Deposits rose at a faster rate, increasing by 25.1 percent to ¢29.1 million in the same year. The company achieved its goal of being able to fund the entire loan portfolio with customer deposits.

It increased its financing support for the agricultural sector, which continues to be largely neglected by formal financial institutions despite its huge potential to create wealth and drive development.

These were made known in Accra at the opening of the company’s SMEs Clients Business Centre to provide tailor-made business solutions that satisfy the demands of SME’s in the country.

The Centre, which will operate on client-manager relationship basis, will ensure that clients receive the best investment advice to enable them contribute to the country's socio-economic development.

Mr. George Aboagye, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), and Mr. Raymond Bismarck, Deputy General Manager, ProCredit, inaugurated the facility in Accra.

Mr. Bismarck said the establishment of the Centre consolidated the company’s position as the best in developing innovative products to satisfy demands of customers.

“ProCredit proves once more its innovative approach through the creation of services fully dedicated to SMEs; this gives a more complete meaning to ProCredit's philosophy of better banking for everyone,” he said.

Mr. Bismarck said the company would continue to provide socially responsible products and services with a transparent pricing approach to SMEs, an area that was previously largely ignored by most financial institutions.

Mr. Aboagye called on the company to use the Centre to provide comprehensive, sound financial advice and support to SMEs to propel the sector into nationally renowned and multinational corporation status.

“Most SMEs could transform into highly profitable larger companies if they receive proper education, guidance and carefully crafted business plans”.Mr. Aboagye urged officials of the Centre to encourage stakeholders within the sector to patronise its services to promote expansion.

ProCredit, a member of the ProCredit Group International, began operations in Ghana in 2002 and currently has 23 branches serving 170,000 clients in six regions of the country.