By Francis Ntow
Accra, Feb. 19, GNA – The Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has raised some GHS150 million on the Ghana Stock Exchange for Kasapreko Company Limited – an indigenous beverage manufacturer.
The amount, the first tranche of GHS600m facility, would be used to support the company’s working capital, finance capital expenditure, including expansion of operations, and refinance short-term debts.
The debt instrument raised from the stock market comes at a lending rate of 26 per cent, compared to the Ghana Reference Rate of about 34 per cent, and has a fixed rate for the three-year period.
Mr Daniel Addo, Managing Director, CBG said the venture signalled indigenous companies’ strong partnership to overcome financing challenges through innovative ways for mutual benefit, while boosting national development.
Mr Addo was speaking at a joint press briefing by the two companies in Accra on Monday, February 19.
He said: “The solution to our challenges funding local corporates and Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) lies with us, and it’s really around how banks, other financial institutions and industry players address the risks inherent in SMEs, in particular.”
He encouraged financial institutions and industry to be bold in facing risks, saying: “Our business is not to runaway from risks, but to manage those risks, and advise local business on how best to run their purse to grow.”
“This transaction is a testament to our overriding ambition to make an impact in the communities in which we operate. At the core of our business philosophy is the idea that our lending must be economically impactful,” Mr Addo stated.
Pledging the Bank’s continued support to Kasapreko Limited and other Ghanaians businesses, the Managing Director said: “CBG will be with you through the good and bad times.”
Mr Richard Adjei, MD, Kasapreko, noted that while Ghanaian companies had gone through challenging times since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, such innovative financing source would boost their operations.
He described the financing scheme from the Ghana Stock Exchange as a relatively cheaper, patient capital and sustainable source for business growth.
“CBG made us understand that we can fund our business from other sources, and this is to diversify our funding from the traditional banks, raise cheaper and more sustainable funding,” he said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.
Mr Adjei noted that with the GHS150 million Kasapreko would expand its production capacity, and boost its trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), having already exported to Kenya and South Africa.
“With this development, we’ll be able to get more affordable products to the market, and contribute to support communities in Ghana and beyond,” the Kasapreko Limited MD said.
On the company’s support to the country, he stated that since 2017, they had donated more than GHS3 million to National Cardiothoracic Centre to support women, children and others with hole-in-heart problems.
Other Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities of the company, which he said would be intensified going forward, included the construction of hospitals and well as the provision of scholarships to brilliant but needy students.
Mr Adjei also said they had taken steps to reduce plastics through recycling, using solar for production, and looking forward to using biomass and steam for power to help address the issues of climate change.
GNA