The beneficiaries were selected after meeting the rigorous criteria designed by the GEA, the World Bank and other development partners of the government.

The beneficiaries are mainly owners of small businesses in agro-processing, food and beverage, healthcare and manufacturing and cut across the country.They are receiving between GH¢20,000 and GH¢300,000 grant to support their operational costs, including the purchase of raw materials and equipment.

Build resilient businesses

At an orientation and signing agreement ceremony for the beneficiaries in Accra on December 19, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, said the grant was designed purposefully to ensure that businesses were resilient and ready to help transform the economy.

She said the main objective of the grant was to strengthen the economy, build industries and rebuild the business ecosystem to deal with unforeseen shocks or challenges in the future.

She said the government negotiated with the World Bank and came up with the access to finance component dubbed; the Ghana Economic Transformation Project to support these businesses, especially those impacted heavily under the early COVID-19 era.

“Today, we are signing off the third batch of 89 beneficiaries of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the COVID-19 Response Grant Programme.

“This batch of beneficiaries is being supported with over GH¢37.8 million, and it is indeed a privilege for me to be here for the third time under the current phase of the programme,” she said.

COVID impact

The CEO stated that the new round of the stimulus package was introduced by the government to cushion micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) from the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

He said the new phase was targeted at firms that export or have the potential to export; female-owned enterprises; businesses owned by persons with disability, and those owned by young people between the ages of 18 and 40.

In line with the government’s agenda to support MSMEs and strengthen women-owned businesses, she said beneficiaries of the grant initiative have created a minimum of 1,500 new jobs within the period.

She said the government sought to make the Ghana Economic Transformation Project a vehicle to transform the economy and support more SMEs to grow.

She added that applicants who made it to this point were those that demonstrated their preparedness and desire to grow their businesses to make an impact and create more jobs