SMEs to benefit from Italian-Ghanaian Fund

At Business Sense 2011 conference,delegates will be addressed by officials from a

joint Italian-Ghanaian initiative (Ghana Private Sector Development Facility),

established to provide credit facilities for Ghanaian SMEs.

Following the successful implementation of the Project financed by the Italian

Government in 2003 for a total amount of 11,000,000 Euro, the Italian Ministry for

Foreign Affairs approved in December 2007 additional financial resources of

22,000,000 Euro (approximately 45 million GHC) in order to continue to support the

effort of the Government of the Republic of Ghana to promote private sector

development.

The new phase of the Project, implemented in collaboration with the Ghanaian

Ministry of Trade and Industry, consists in two main components: a loan component of

20,000,000 Euro, used to establish a credit facility in favor of Ghanaian private

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and a grant component of 2,000,000 Euro, which

covers the operational costs and the technical assistance activities of the Project.

Beneficiaries of this Credit Facility shall be only Ghanaian Small and Medium

Enterprises which fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• The ownership of the enterprise must be 100% private;

• The enterprise must be part of the production or of the service sector (i.e.

farming activities are not eligible);

• The production activity of the enterprise must not harm the environment (i.e. wood

processing activities are not eligible);

• The enterprise must not make use, directly or indirectly, of child labour;

• The operation of the enterprise must not have any direct or indirect connection

with military activities or weapons (including sporting fire arms, defence systems,

military installations, military equipment and materials), tobacco processing and

luxury goods.

Click **[here to register]( http://www.businesssensegh.com/conference.php)** and

hear more about this facility at Business Sense 2011