Ibrahim Awal Mohammed
Minister for Business Development, Ibrahim Awal Mohammed says his ministry will be dialoguing with financial institutions to agree on a relatively low interest rate on loans for small and Medium Enterprises (SME).
Speaking exclusively to media, Mr. Ibrahim said that access to credit facilities, especially at high interest rates undermine the performance of SME’s, adding that the currently 35 percent borrowing rate is not positive for businesses to flourish.
Mr. Awal said that his ministry will also authorize SMEs by enhancing their productive capacity and competitiveness through training and orientation.
Ibrahim Awal Mohammed said we are looking at all the businesses, and we are to make sure that within our first 4 years in office Ghanaian businesses should not only be very effective, but they should be competitive enough to get foreign markets.
He also stated that his ministry will be pleading the service of business development partners with bankable proposals to help strengthen the capacity of small and medium businesses.
In the meantime high interest rate regime in Ghana has forced a number of SMEs to turn to family and friends as their top source for acquiring finance, affirming the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) findings that acquiring funds is difficult for small business in Ghana.
