ProCredit focuses on SMEs

Accra, Oct. 14, GNA - ProCredit, Ghana's biggest Savings and Loans Company in terms of assets size and clientele base, has deployed a plan w= ith the focus of extending its lending activities to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME). A statement signed by Mr Edwige Takassi, Managing Director of ProCredit, said this was out of the realization that in-between the "over=

financed" very small and very big enterprises, there is still a big financing gap in the Ghanaian economy. Savings and loans companies generally focus on microfinance activiti= es, while commercial banks usually prefer big and already well established corporate clients. It said financial needs for the SME clients generally ranged from GH¢20,000 to GH¢500,000. The statement said taping from the International ProCredit Group's l= ong experience in SME lending, ProCredit Ghana started lending to SME clients=

years ago. However, it said, in the past few years, ProCredit Ghana's main focu= s was on Micro and Agro lending. "While continuing with those successful key activities, ProCredit is=

henceforth granting an increased attention to SMEs." The statement said the ProCredit SME loan was designed to enable sma= ll and medium scale entrepreneurs and entities to grow and expand their businesses by making adequate credit facilities at competitive rates accessible to them. Other financial products and services available for its SME clients include short-term financing on current account basis (ProCreditline), ea= sy ATM services, ProGlobal which allows clients to send and receive foreign currencies to and from abroad (through our partner banks), ProCash a loca= l money transfer service that enables clients to transfer money across the company's 23 branches in 6 regions. ProCredit is a member of the ProCredit group of 22 financial institutions operating in transitional economies in Eastern Europe, South=

America and Africa with the main aim of providing simple financial servic= es to very small, small and medium-sized enterprises. ProCredit Ghana currently serves various needs of over 170,000 clien= ts in 23 branches across the country.