Seminar held on Fund for the business community

Takoradi (Western Region), 23rd June 99 ?

The Empretec Ghana Foundation (EGF) on Tuesday organised a day's seminar on "the Technology and Enterprise Development Fund " (TEDF) for the business community in Takoradi.

The EGF manages the fund, which is provided by the government and the World Bank, to assist small and medium enterprises to have access to consultative services.

Speaking at the seminar, Mr Francis Kusi, Financial Analyst of EGF said the TEDF is also aimed at assisting enterprises to increase their efficiency to develop value-added products and provide reliable services.

It would provide consultancy services in areas including project conception, preparation of feasibility studies, operational and financial management, and assist enterprises in accessing funds from the financial sector, he added.

Mr Kusi said the TEDF would offer technical assistance in improving products to meet the challenges of competitive quality standards on the global market and export promotion through industrial design.

He said enterprises that qualify for assistance under the fund must be registered companies, with at least 51 per cent private ownership.

Ghanaians engaged in primary agriculture, trading and real estate must own majority shares, and firms with asset size of projected annual sales not exceeding 400,000 dollars.

Mr Kingsley Deteah, Western Regional Manager of EGF said small business development is constrained by inadequate funds to establish ventures or expand operations, low level of technology and inadequacy of managerial competence.

He said EGF has been providing assistance to small and medium sized businesses in the region to expand.

The EGF has supported 43 businesses with loans totalling 385.2 million cedis, under the United Nations Development Programme Capacity Development and Utilisation Programme.

In an address read for Lt Col Kaku Korsah, Shama-Ahanta East Metropolitan Chief Executive, he said the growth of small and medium enterprises is critical to the creation of a sound private-sector driven economy.

He said the government's commitment to prudent and stable policy, and the divestiture of public enterprises, have significantly improved private sector perceptions about Ghana as a place in which to invest.

Lt Col Korsah said the government is committed to resolving problems that continue to prevent the competitiveness of Ghanaian companies in the local economy and on the international markets.