Mr. Julius Debrah, the Chief of Staff, said they would be provided with access to credit to expand and add-value to their products to become more competitive on both the local and international market.

An agreement to this effect had been signed with the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of Ghana, he added.

He was speaking at a media briefing in Kumasi at the start of his four-day election campaign tour of the Ashanti Region to woo voters ahead of the next month’s presidential and parliamentary polls.

Mr. Debrah said the government was determined to go to every length to make the private sector more vibrant - to create jobs and wealth for the people.

He said it had the firm conviction that this was vital to lift many out of poverty.

 He identified the region as “the entrepreneurial paradise of the nation”, and pledged continued development of the necessary infrastructure to reduce the cost of doing business.

Mr. Debrah hinted of plans to transform the Suame Magazine and the Kumasi Central Market with state-of-the-art facilities to boost the local economy.

He indicated that achieving sustainable industrial growth was a major priority on their development agenda.

It was for this reason that over the last four years they had undertaken a number of socio-economic projects to improve the value chain of production – roads and market construction.

Added to these, he said was the deliberate effort to build the capacity of the SMEs.

Mr. Debrah would hold discussions with the traditional authorities, identifiable youth and women groups, the business community, religious bodies and address political rallies during the four days.