Minister appeals micro finance institutions to expand

Techiman, Sept 29, GNA - Prof Gyan Baffour, a Deputy Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, has stressed the need for micro finance institutions to expand their outreach services efficiently and on a sustainable basis to low-income households.

He was addressing the 20th anniversary celebration of the International Year of Micro Credit at Techiman. Prof Baffour, who is the Chairman of the Ghana National Committee of the International Year of Micro Credit, said micro and small entrepreneurship in rural areas was a time-tested development strategy for poverty reduction.

The celebration was under the theme, "Micro Finance, a tool for job and wealth creation".

Prof Baffour said economic growth alone and its resultant trickling-down effect had not achieved its desired impact on the poor, though indications are that the incidence of poverty in Ghana had continued to fall since 1992.

Nana Kwadwo Seinti, Brong Ahafo Regional Minister, expressed concern about medium and small-scale entrepreneurs in private and formal sectors of the economy having difficulty in accessing credit from various sources especially the commercial banks.

He said despite all these difficulties, the government still believed that the private sector especially small and medium scale businesses held the path to the economic growth. 29 Sept 05