GCB, UMB, EXIM banks to ‘power’ 1 district, 1 factory'

The National Coordinator of the One-District, One-Factory programme, Gifty Ohene Konadu, has revealed that several banks including the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), the GCB and EXIM Bank will be providing financial support to the factories that will be set up under the programme throughout the 216 districts across the country.

Speaking during the launch of the first factory – a pineapple processing factory – in Ekumfi in the Central Region on Friday, August 25, Mrs Konadu said: “The One-District, One-Factory is a vision, and is a vision of his Excellency, the President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. When the president promised the One-District, One-Factory, he did not make that promise just to excite people, he made the promise because he believed in the potential of this country, the importance of empowering our districts and the need for job creation.

“He made the promise because he believed it is achievable. Today, we are here to launch his Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo’s vision. In line with his vision, the One-District, One-Factory secretariat has been set up under the Office of the President to coordinate and oversee the implementation of the policy.

“The success however, will not depend solely on the secretariat. The secretariat has therefore established close collaboration with the Ministry of Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry Of Local Government, chiefs, farmers, financial institutions and investors to assist the secretariat to ensure that the relevant structures – infrastructure, land raw materials and financing are available for the factories that will be established.

“I will like to assure the public that all the proposals will assessed and if found viable, the necessary assistance will be provided to raise the proposals up to the standards that will be acceptable to the financiers. We have partnered with numerous banks including EXIM Bank, GCB, UMB and others to support the viable projects.”