ITALY CONTINUES TO SUPPORT SMALL, MEDIUM ENTERPRISES IN GHANA

Following the successful implementation of the Project named "Ghana Private Sector Development Fund" - credit facility in favour of Small and Medium Enterprises financed by the Italian Government in 2003 for a total amount of Euro 11,000,000.00 (eleven million Euro) and fully exhausted, the Minister of Finance and Economic Planning, Hon. Kwadwo Baah-Wiredu and the Ambassador of Italy, H.E. Fabrizio De Agostini signed on August 6, 2008 a new agreement worth Euro 22,000,000.00 to continue to support the growth of Small and Medium Enterprises.

This additional financial resources provided by Italy to support the Government or Ghana in the development of the private sector, which has been identified as priority sector for achieving faster economic development and reduction of poverty in the Country, follows the common engagement achieved by the two Countries on the occasion of the State visit in Italy on October 2006 of H.E. John A. Kufuor, President of Ghana, and of the State visit to Ghana in July 2007 of H.E. Giorgio Napolitano, President of Italy.

The new 22,000,000.00 Euro credit line to support the growth of the SMEs, Project named "Ghana Private Sector Development Facility", consists of two main components; the first (soft loan component) for a total amount of Euro 20.000,000.00 ( twenty million Euro) and the second (grant component) of Euro 2.000,000.00 (two-million Euro). The soft loan component will be channeled to the qualified Small and Medium Enterprises through the local Commercial Banks and Leasing Companies to finance capital goods, consumables production inputs and services, and contraction works.

The grant component is .designed to facilitate the use of the credit through the activity of the Project Management Unit, run by Italian and Ghanaian experts, which will assist the SME,s in preparing and in implementing their business plans.

The grant component will also finance technical assistance through initiatives of institutional and decentralised capacity building.