1,350 SMEs get $10m NEIP funding

The government, through its flagship National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan Initiative (NEIP), has disbursed $10 million to 1,350 entrepreneurs of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as "seed capital" to set up their own businesses or revamp the existing ones.

Each beneficiary received an amount ranging between GHS10,000 to GHS100,000, as financial support.

Director of Business Support at NEIP, Owusu Karikari told Class News in an interview in Kumasi that the support is a loan with an interest of 10 per cent, repayable within three years to enable SMEs expand and create more jobs.

He said NEIP identified lack of Knowledge about products development, limited market, inadequate management skills, lack of funding and lack of technical support, as challenges confronting SMEs.

“It is in this line that the government, through its flagship NEIP, is providing an integrated support for startups and small businesses,” Mr Karikari said.

He mentioned that the support will shore up indigenous businesses so they can compete with their counterparts in the rest of the world.

As part of the government’s support for SMEs, 7,000 more entrepreneurs had been trained to build and handle their businesses, Mr Karikari said, adding that the government has announced tax holidays for young entrepreneurs under 35 years of age, as a respite for their businesses.

NEIP Business Support Programme primarily focuses on providing business development services; startup incubators and funding for young businesses to enable them to grow and become successful.