Government and the International Finance Corporation, member of the World Bank Group, are to hold a strategic retreat to align resources to critical areas under the Ghana CAREs Obaatanpa Programme.

The two-day meeting will explore ways to align IFC’s medium term strategy to the priority areas outlined in the Gh?100 billion Ghana Coronavirus Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (CARES) Obaatanpa Programme.

The workshop, to be held on June 9 and June 10 will, among others, discuss government’s strategic plan for private sector development and unlocking long-term growth capital to support Ghanaian Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSME) under a synergized CARES and IFC Ghana Strategy.

A statement issued by the Ministry of Finance said IFC’s Vice President for Middle East and Africa, Sérgio Pimenta, will lead the IFC team, with the Minister for Finance, Hon. Ken Ofori-Atta leading the Government team.

The Ministers for Trade & Industry, Food & Agriculture, Communication & Digitalization and Works & Housing will also participate in the meeting.

Private Sector representatives, and Government agencies such as the Bank of Ghana, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF), and Ghana Export-Import Bank (EXIM), are also scheduled to participate.

Some of the critical areas to be discussed include Agriculture and Agri-business, affordable housing, infrastructure financing and development, Entrepreneurship, manufacturing, and digitalization.

The Ghana CARES Obaatanpa Programme was launched in November 2020, as Government’s response to mitigate the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and return the economy to a path of robust and sustainable growth over the next three years.

The retreat is expected to agree on IFC priorities aimed at supporting the GoG transformation agenda over the medium term.