Give SMEs special interest rates on loans

Participants in a Small and Micro Enterprises financial institutions forum at Elmina in the Central Region have called for different interest rate arrangements for SMEs to encourage them to expand.

The Chief Executive Officer of Geobert Memorial Herbal Centre, Dr Magnus Ebo Duncan, said this would give SMEs the leverage to grow and expand their businesses.

He indicated that many SMEs had folded up because of high interest rates on loans from the banks.

The forum was organised by the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) to create a platform for financial institutions to interact with SMEs and to respond to challenges facing them as well as identify ways of addressing such challenges.

Dr Duncan said “with all the important roles SMEs play in developing economies it will be right if they are given loans on their own terms."

Another participant, John Nanabenyin Yeboah Ghansah, said many banks took the SME owners for granted, and as such did not build proper relationships with them.

He noted in particular that many Ghanaian banks did not have proper customer relationship strategies that allowed SMEs to grow with the banks.

Proper relationships

He said this attitude must change for proper relationships to be nurtured between SMEs and the financial institutions to help them grow for their mutual benefit.

He said there must be mutual understanding and communication that would translate into growth for both the banks and the SMEs.

Another participant, Thomas Donkor, said there must be improved sensitisation and communication between SMEs and the financial institutions, saying the forum was a step in the right direction.

Participating banks included ABSA, GCB and CBG.

The Deputy CEO-Finance and Operations of GEPA, Samuel Dentu, stated that almost all SMEs faced financial challenges.

Benefits

He said while the banks viewed the SMEs as the riskiest sector, there were incalculable benefits if the SMEs were built into resilient enterprises.

He added that the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area gave room for SMEs to extend their frontiers and build linkages for support and partnerships.

He indicated that GEPA was targeting to earn GH¢25.3 billion in exports by 2029.

Last year, he said the country earned GH¢3.5 billion in non-traditional exports, saying GEPA would work to promote SMEs to expand their businesses to the export markets to achieve the targets.

The Southeast Manager of the CBG Bank, Dr Clement Ansah, said the banks were increasingly working to support the SMEs with financial policies that promoted their growth.

He said collateral and other policies hindered SMEs’ access to financial support and pledged commitment to their growth.