Germany to provide financial support to local companies

Dr Gerd Muller, a German Federal Minister, has expressed his country’s commitment to collaborate with Ghana to provide financial solutions to local companies who wish to acquire German equipment or use their services.

The financial support include setting up of accounts, providing short to medium-term credit facilities, services for financing trade and banking transaction.

Dr Muller announced this in Accra, at the opening ceremony of the German Desk Ghana, a summit to offer financial support and solutions for the German and Ghanaian companies.

The companies thus can benefit from the combined network of Access Bank, the Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (AGCCI) and the Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft (DEG).

DEG is a private-sector enterprises operating in developing and emerging-market countries by providing tailor-made solutions, including financing, promotional programmes and individual advice.

A Memoranda of Understanding was signed between Access Bank and DEG; and between the German Industry and Commerce in Ghana and DEG to advance the financial support.

Dr Muller said the global network of German Desks connected Peru, Kenya and Nigeria to Indonesia and Bangladesh.

Ghana, he said, was one of the Africa’s emerging economies, however, limited access to attractive and tailor-made financing support was a major impediment to the development of trade between her and Germany.

Dr Muller said DEG had, therefore, created a service to close the financing gaps affecting trade activities with the support of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and its stakeholders.

Mr Ken Ofori Atta, the Minister of Finance, said the Summit would serve as a point of contact to network among key stakeholders and chart the path in building stronger synergy between Germany and Ghana for development.

He said the country had witnessed a significant micro and macro growth with inflation rate of 9.4 per cent as at the end of 2018, adding that the country was open for business and welcomed investors for collaboration to increase trade and investment.

The Finance Minister said the country was ready to provide the necessary enabling environment for Germany to invest in, especially in the vocational sector for strong and efficient industrialisation drive.

This, he said, tied in with the agenda of ‘Ghana Beyond Aid’, - which sought an important public-private partnership for investments towards expanding production and creating job opportunities.

Dr Martin Wansleben, the Chief Executive Officer of AGCCI, emphasised the importance of having a German Desk, especially in the time where access to suitable funding in young emerging markets was often a challenge.

He said the German Desk would contribute immensely to the overall business cooperation between Ghana and Germany by intensifying the competitiveness of German companies in Ghana.

Mr Roosevelt Ogbonna, the Deputy Group Managing Director of Access Bank, stated that the initiative did not only give the Bank a competitive advantage but also helped to show its expertise in providing customer-based solutions across all its operating countries.

“The partnership with DEG is the first of its kind in Ghana and mirror our successes in Nigeria,” he said. “We are leveraging on the global investment footprints of our partners and our strong local industry expertise to close the finance gaps hampering trade activities in Ghana and the sub-region”.