More businesses in Ashanti Region apply for stimulus than others

A breakdown of the applications of the stimulus package earmarked by the government to assist businesses in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, shows that businesses in the Ashanti Region apply for the package more than their counterparts in the other regions.

The Region recorded the highest number with 28.6% of total applications.

This was followed by the Central Region with 13%. The Greater Accra has 12% applications while Eastern Region has 11.5%.

As part of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic in Ghana to sustain businesses, President Akufo-Addo in March announced that all households and small to medium scale enterprises are to benefit from a stimulus package of one billion Ghana cedis.

The initial amount for the SMEs was pegged at GH¢600 million, but has been increased to GH¢1 billion following a commitment by some participating financial institutions.

Meanwhile, more than one hundred and ten thousand businesses have successfully completed their application for the government’s GH¢1billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme.

This is a huge jump from the 14,000 businesses that registered in the first week.

A statement from the National Board for Small Scale Industries, NBSSI, said this represents 65% of the 170,000 registrations it has recorded on its online portal so far.

“In coordination with relevant Participating Financial Institutions, the necessary due diligence is underway to ensure our hardworking Ghanaian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who are the backbone of the economy receive requisite assistance in these hard times,” the NBSSI Executive Director, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh noted.