Management of Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) has embarked on a nationwide financial training for the marginalised productive poor within the informal sector.
The aim is to provide them with accelerated access to credit facilities.
Speaking to journalists after the opening session of a training programme for fishermen and fish mongers within La community in Accra on
Wednesday, Ms Bertha Ansah-Djan, Chief Executive Officer of MASLOC, said the training was essential to create the platform for prospective beneficiaries to learn business-like approach to handling money for productivity.
She explained that the training formed part of efforts to correct the erroneous impression about the operations of MASLOC that the loans granted to beneficiaries were "free money" or "government's gift" to party functionaries.
Ms Ansah-Djan said MASLOC objective is to provide micro credit and small repayable loans to women, the physically challenged, the youth and
operators of small and medium scale economic generating activities in the country.
"The money disbursed is a loan, and because it is a loan, beneficiaries will have to pay it back," she stressed.
She said the training team would move to various communities to provide the needed financial assistance to operators of small and medium-scale enterprises.
Ms Ansah-Djan announced that MASLOC had restructured its operations to make it more productive and responsive to the challenges that beleaguered the previous administration.
"The monitoring and training departments have been beefed up and the internal audit system strengthened to brace up with the day to day
activities of the centre," she said.
Ms Ansah-Djan gave the assurance that MASLOC was working with the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) and the Bureau of National Investigations (BNI) to chase defaulters to recover loans in arrears.
MASLOC was established to support government's programme of a sustainable reduction in poverty as spelt out under the Growth and Poverty Reduction Strategy (GPRS) by providing micro credit and small loans, which are expected to be repaid with interest.
It is to serve as the fiduciary agency of government for the prudent and judicious management of government and development partners' funds for micro and small-scale credit programmes.
MASLOC is expected to promote the emergence, development and growth of a sustainable and decentralised micro-financial sector with grassroots participation in ownership, management and control.
The most common tenure of loan facilities under the scheme is 12 months, applicable to commerce, with one to three months moratorium
depending on the nature of the project.
The maximum period is up to 24 months, which is normally applicable mainly to new projects or economic activities such as tractor purchase and operations, pineapple cultivation, piggery as well as institutional lending
for the purpose of on-lending and retailing to end-users.
Economic activities that qualify to be funded under MASLOC include food crops, agro-processing, poultry, livestock, piggery, micro-enterprise, traditional catering, transportation of food stuffs, garages and mechanics, agro-marketing, fish mongering, fishing, aquaculture, handicrafts, farm inputs and agricultural machinery.
The scheme offers categories of loan facilities which range from GH¢500 to GH¢25,000 to an individual or groups of individuals, associations or a legal person.