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On Wednesday, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched a US$10-million grant to assist small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) within the tourism, hospitality and inventive arts trade, with about 60 per cent of the quantity anticipated to go to female-owned enterprises.
The quantity varieties a part of the Ghana Tourism Improvement Programme begun in 2018, which is supposed to supply monetary and technical help for the event of the leisure tourism sector.
The grant is, due to this fact, anticipated to assist help operators within the sector to modernise and enhance their amenities, together with the websites.
About 1,500 SMEs are anticipated to learn from the grant being offered by the World Financial institution.
Two issues essential with regard to the grant are making SMEs into tourism vibrant and giving female-owned enterprises 60 p.c of the quantity.
SMEs are privately-owned and they also more often than not lack sufficient capital to function at full capability to have the ability to provide the anticipated items and providers and in addition create the variety of jobs that might assist cut back unemployment within the nation.
Whereas within the European Union (EU), a small-sized enterprise is outlined as an organization with fewer than 50 workers and a medium-sized one as working with lower than 250 workers with out mentioning how a lot capital they want, in Ghana, the Enterprise Capital Fund Act 2004 (Act 680) characterises an SME an trade, challenge, enterprise or financial exercise which employs no more than 100 folks and whose complete asset base, excluding land and constructing, doesn’t exceed the cedi equal of $1 million in worth.
The non-mention of capital within the case of the EUcan suggest that capital isn’t a problem of their case, a transparent reverse of what obtains within the nation.
It’s, due to this fact, an excellent transfer on the a part of the federal government to hunt help for these non-public enterprises, contemplating the truth that it is extremely troublesome for a lot of SMEs within the nation to get credit score from monetary establishments as a result of they don’t meet the collateral necessities.
It’s the prayer of the Ghanaian Occasions that each one the focused 1,500 would obtain comparatively sufficient grant to vibrantly function, make revenue, develop and make use of extra folks.
Small and medium-size enterprises are essential to each economic system as they outnumber giant companies, each private and non-private, and make use of an enormous variety of folks, thereby lowering the stress on the state to supply jobs for the citizenry.
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Additionally it is stated they’re usually entrepreneurial in nature and assist to form innovation.
It’s the hope of the Ghanaian Occasions that, as President Akufo-Addo has already suggested, the managers of beneficiary SMEs would use the grant to assist their companies to bounce again from the blows of COVID-19, develop, and create jobs to assist the expansion of the nation’s economic system.
The managers ought to do effectively to withstand makes an attempt to purchase luxurious automobiles and different pointless issues whereas their companies are struggling.
We imagine the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Tradition would police the usage of the grant by the beneficiaries.
The Ghanaian Occasions can also be comfortable that 60 p.c of the grant would go to female-owned enterprises.
This implies a acutely aware effort is being achieved to deal with a few of the gender-gap socio-economic issues, which at all times go towards ladies.
We enchantment to the feminine beneficiaries to keep away from impulse shopping for, apply the funds judiciously and goal to outperform the male-owned enterprises to justify their cherished mantra that “what males can do, ladies can do it higher”.
The federal government deserves commendation for the transfer but it surely ought to be watchful concerning the disburse of the grant, making an allowance for the necessity to verify underhand offers and all corrupt acts that may deny beneficiaries the quantities they individually deserve.
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