The scheme is an initiative of Growth Investment Partners (GIP) Ghana, the newly launched investment arm of British Inter­national Investment (BII), the United Kingdom’s (UK) develop­ment finance institution.

Beneficiary SMEs in various sectors including energy, agricul­ture, forestry and manufactur­ing, will receive capital ranging between US$500,000 and US$5 million through flexible financing options that meet their needs of local businesses and are not available in the market.

Additionally, GIP with the support of the Ghana Invest­ment Support Programme, will provide business support services and capacity building in areas of financial manage­ment, corporate governance and environmental and social practice to enable productive, sustainable and inclusive growth of SMEs.

Speaking at the launch of the SMEs support programme in Accra over the weekend, the Managing Director and Head of Africa, BII, Chris Chijiutomi, said SMEs occupy a critical role in the Ghanaian economy, ac­counting for over 90 per cent of business enterprises, 60 per cent of the country’s GDP and 80 per cent of all employment.

Despite its importance to the economy, SMEs in Ghana were faced with a financing gap esti­mated at US$4.8 billion, one of the largest in Africa.

“SMEs face many challenges with accessing growth capital through traditional funding sources including high interest rates, short-term loans, high col­lateral requirements and currency mismatches.

Compounded by a challenging macroeconomic environment, in­fluenced by the global pandemic and geopolitical conflicts, SMEs in Ghana need access to long-term growth capital and business support designed to boost their growth, create jobs and deepen their contributions to the Ghana­ian economy,” he stated.

BII, Mr Chijiutomi said creat­ed GIP as a unique and lasting solution that was not limited by typical fund investment horizons, which would enable the compa­ny to become a true long-term partner for Ghanaian businesses to fuel their growth.

Also, he explained that it was designed for investments from local institutional investors, contributing to the expansion of the capital market in Ghana and scaling GIP’s impact.

He added that GIP would support up to 150 Ghanaian SMEs within the next 15 years long-term flexible capital, pri­marily in local currency.

The Coverage Director for Ghana, BII, Kwabena As­ante-Poku said the GIP funding support would add up to the existing US$129 million invest­ments across 29 pioneering com­panies which employ more than 15,800 people in the country.

The Chief Executive and Investment Officer, GIP, Mr Jacob Kholi said SMEs with a turnover and total assets up to US$15 million as well as employ­ees between 10 to 300 would be supported.

Also, he noted that beneficiary businesses should be incorporat­ed and operate mainly in Ghana to meet the requirement for financing support