By Dennis Peprah, GNA
Sunyani, (Bono), Sept. 2, GNA – The MTN Foundation Economic Empowerment Program has disbursed GHC5 million to 454 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across the country within three years.
MTN Ghana, the nation’s largest telecommunication company in collaboration with the Innohub Foundation, an enterprise support organisation rolled out the Programme as part of the company’s 25th Anniversary legacy projects.
According to Miss Juliet Dzasi, the Programme Lead, Innohub Foundation, the initiative was designed to help unlock new growth pathways for young entrepreneurs across the country.
“Over a five-year period, the programme seeks to support at least 500 MSMEs with tailored business development services and access to funding of up to GHS 20,000 per enterprise”, she told the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in interview in Sunyani.
She was speaking on the sidelines of a pitch event for the selection of beneficiary MSMEs in Sunyani, saying that programme was also in response to addressing identified gaps to stimulate meaningful economic transformation of the MSMEs.
Ms Dzasi explained that this year the initiative targeted and sought to provide the funding grant to the MSMEs in Bono, Bono East, and Ahafo Regions.
She said that between 100 and 150 MSMEs in the three regions were expected to receive the support, ranging between GHC10,000 and GHC20,000 each, depending on their financial needs.
Ms Dzasi explained that the initiative targeted youth-led, women-led and People with Disabilities (PwDs)-led MSMEs, adding that those MSMEs ought to have been established and be in active operations for about two years.
“We also ensure that they have some forms of customers and are making revenues, and they have that potential to expand. So, you just have to register and based on the registration and how solid your application is you are then shortlisted for the pitch phase”, she explained.
Ms Dzasi added however that: “For the women-led and the PwDs-led MSMEs we don’t have a more rigid criteria for selection. You just have to get a business with registration and easy to go, and not like the youth-led category.”
She explained that the youth-led targeted MSMEs entrepreneurs between the ages of 18 years and 35 years, with the women-led beneficiaries targeting women in the informal sector business like fashions, hairdressing, fish mongers, among others.
Ms Dzasi said the beneficiaries were mostly selected through competitive business pitches, saying that the initiative had developed a database of all beneficiaries.
“Before they are selected and provided with the funding, we do due diligence and undertake regular checks to ensure that beneficiaries utilize the funds for the intended purpose”, she stated.
“We also visit their businesses occasionally to know how they are growing and expanding,” Ms Dzasi added.
She entreated the beneficiary MSMEs to utilise the support judiciously and to grow and expand their operations and to create more job opportunities for others too.
Besides the financial support, she said the programme offered selected beneficiaries with training and business development skills to help them use their market linkages.
Ms Dzasi added that with support from the MTN Ghana, the programme also registered the businesses onto the ‘merchant account’ to enable them to separate their business account from their personal account.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei
Reporter: Dennis Peprah
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