He said the current high interest charges on loans were not helpful to efforts at growing businesses – to expand and create jobs for the people, particularly, the youth. He was speaking at a day’s “market scan assessment” workshop held at Abesim, near Sunyani.

It was organized by Plan Ghana with support from the European Union (EU) as part of the Green Skills for Ghana Project designed to provide employment opportunities for the young people.

The three-year project funded by the EU has targeted to create livelihood opportunities for about 6,000 youth and women through the promotion of local environmentally sustainable businesses.

The workshop brought together participants from three municipalities – Sunyani and Tano South, in the Brong-Ahafo Region, and Ga South, in Greater Accra. They were made up of assembly members, staff of decentralised departments, traditional rulers and youth leaders.

Mr. Asum-Kwarteng asked that more should be done to make credit not only accessible but affordable to people eager to start their own businesses. It was also important to see to it that, already existing ones were supported to operate optimally.

He expressed concern about the high interest rates and said that was making it difficult for Ghanaian businesses to favourably compete on the international market.  Mr. Jackson Adiyiah Nyantakyi, the Brong-Ahafo Regional Deputy Director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), said many businesses in the country were not ensuring environmental sustainability and applauded Plan Ghana and the EU for the implementation of the Project.

He urged those into the green business to register with EPA so that their businesses would be taken through environmental impact assessment.