Eximbank expends GHc800m on 81 projects in 2years

The Ghana Eximbank has expended GHc800 million in financing 81 Ghanaian SMEs over the last two years, CEO of the Bank, Lawrence Agyinsam has said.

The amount according to the Eximbank, was disbursed mainly in financing businesses which focus on areas that needed significant domestic production and as well have export potentials to the West African market and the United States, through the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Meanwhile, the bank has expressed concern that certain sectors including pharmaceuticals and the poultry subsector require critical attention.

Addressing some diasporans and stakeholders at an African American Business Summit in Accra, Mr. Agyinsam disclosed that, “Ghana produces 40 percent of its pharmaceutical products and 10 percent of poultry with the situation requiring significant attention”.

The Eximbank, which has however targeted domestic poultry production to reach at least 40 percent of local demand in the next five years expressed readiness to finance businesses and enterprises to venture into the sector.

Instructively, Mr Agyinsam asked the visiting African Americans to establish strategic businesses and form partnerships in Ghana to take advantage of the recently approved US$300 million which was offered by the Exim Bank of the United States.

The deal forms part of efforts to empower Ghanaian private businesses and to promote industrial development.

Under the agreement, US EXIM and Ghana EXIM will create an on-lending structure that allows Ghana EXIM to serve as a borrower and the primary source of repayment for EXIM.

Ghana EXIM will on-lend in transactions of up to US$10 million to Ghanaians businesses as the end-users of the financing, up to a total of US$300 million as approved by US EXIM.

All transactions would be approved individually and are subject to EXIM’s policies.

“Several other opportunities are in the areas of value addition to raw materials, packaging and branding of products such as shea butter, garments among others,” he said at the summit.

The framework the Ghana Exim explained, is to ensure projects earmarked under the 1D1F receive the needed support.

The agreement is expected to strategically empower the private sector to create jobs to curb unemployment.

Tourism Minister, Madam Barbara Oteng Gyasi, noted that there are significant investment opportunities, particularly in the tourism sector.

She explained that the summit was to expose the ‘visitors’ to some of those opportunities and to enable the formation of partnerships to enhance growth and investments in the country.