The  Ministry of Finance, in collab­oration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has schooled over 600 Small and Medium-sized Enter­prises (SMEs) on existing opportu­nities in grants and loans available under the SMEs Growth and Op­portunity (SMEs GO) programme in order to help improve business­es in the Upper West Region.

The initiative, when implement­ed would provide a financial sup­port package with flexible financial options enabling businesses to obtain the necessary resources to scale their operations effectively.

Under the SMEs GO project, the International Finance Corpo­ration (IFC) with other partners provided some of GH¢8.2 billion to help offer both technical and financial solutions to SMEs in the country.

Addressing stakeholders in Wa, the Director of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Mr Isaac Nimako, said that the SME Growth and Opportuni­ty programme initiated by the government would help break the barriers that had impeded the growth of SMEs.

He mentioned the Ghana En­terprises Agency (GEA), Develop­ment Bank Ghana (DBG), Ghana EXIM Bank and IFC as the key agencies for the successful imple­mentation of the project.

He indicated that SMEs would be given up to GH¢150,000 in grants and GH¢2 million in loans under the government's SMEs GO programme to improve their businesses and to ensure growth and productivity. "We believe that all SMEs across Ghana have to benefit from this programme and they can only do so if they have adequate informa­tion about the processes in terms of their criteria, in terms of their requirements so that once they put in their applications and they satis­fy these criteria and requirements, they are in a position to access funding", he indicated.

Mr Nimako pointed out that some areas of attention would include agro-processing businesses, food and beverages, hospitality management, the construction sector, healthcare and pharmaceu­tical, trade and commerce, among others.

The Technical Advisor to the Finance Minister, Dr Abudu Abdul Ganiyu, who read a speech on behalf of the Finance Minister reiterated government's unwav­ering commitment to supporting SMEs, and creating an enabling environment for their success.

He said the SME GO project was not only to provide technical assistance and funding in the short term, but also to ensure the gradu­al enhancement of the business ecosystem in the country. "This ambitious programme marks the big step toward strengthening the entire SME ecosystem in the medium term, I firmly believe that this initiative will unlock the full potential of Ghanaian SMEs, creating a new wave of entrepreneurs and busi­ness leaders who will drive our economy forward", he said.

Dr Abdul-Ganiyu stressed that the government would continue to place immense focus on nurturing the MSMEs sector, recognising the integral role they play in both society and economic expansion. "Through the SME GO, we will bind the public and private sectors together to create a better ecosystem for our SMEs, we must harness the potential of our homegrown SMEs to build a prosperous, dynamic, and compet­itive economy", he emphasised.

Some of the participants expressed concern about the requirements for accessing loans and frustration of such initiatives in the past.  FROM RAFIA ABDUL RAZAK WA