‘Don’t lose confidence in microfinance companies’
The Operations Manager of ASA Savings and Loans Limited, Mr Sajibur Rahman, has urged Ghanaians not to allow the recent challenges in the microfinance industry to dim their quest to save part of their income with credible financial institutions.
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He said it was better for parents to save in bits for the future of their children than wait until they grew up to be confronted with lack of adequate funds to finance their education or any venture.
Mr Rahman gave the advice during a free health screening organised by the company for residents of Penkwasi, a suburb of Sunyani.
More than 300 residents of the community benefited from the exercise which officials of the company said was part of their corporate social responsibility.
ASA Company
The company, which started operations in Ghana in 2008, is currently operating in six regions with 16 branches and 77 business centres.
It has over 125,000 clients in the six regions which are Greater Accra, Central, Western, Eastern, Ashanti and the Brong Ahafo regions.
While the branches are used to mobilise deposits, the business centres only disburse loans according to laid down regulations by the Bank of Ghana.
In the Brong Ahafo Region, the company started operations last year and currently has one branch, four business centres and about 4,000 clients.
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Mr Rahman urged Ghanaians not to be afraid to do business with the company, since “we are operating strictly according to regulations of the Bank of Ghana”.
Free health screening
On the free health screening he explained that it was the company’s policy to serve people in communities where it was operating to the best of its ability.
He gave an assurance that all communities where the company had established a branch would benefit from the gesture.
“We collaborate with health institutions in our operation areas to organise the free health screening exercise from time to time, since it is our belief that it is only when people are healthy that they can work to mobilise money and save part.”
A team of health personnel from the Abesim Health Centre, led by Dr Belinda Mettle, screened the residents who trooped to the company’s office where the exercise was organised.
Beneficiaries who were diagnosed with minor health problems were provided with medication while those with complicated health problems were advised to visit hospitals for treatment.
Some of the beneficiaries who spoke to the Daily Graphic thanked the company for bringing health service to their doorstep and called on other companies operating in various communities in Sunyani to follow the footsteps of the savings and loans company.