Consolidated Bank Ghana Ltd. (CBG) has opened its ultra-modern SME centre at Kokomlemle to cater for the needs of SME clients. Commending the bank, the Deputy Minister of Finance in charge of Wealth Creation, Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, praised the bank for its unflinching support to the SME sector.
According to the deputy minister who is also the Member of Parliament for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, SMEs account for an overwhelming proportion of employment creation in Ghana. In supporting them, CBG aligns with the government’s agenda for SME growth and development.
The deputy minister also commended the bank for partnering with the Ghana Employment Agency in rolling out the YouStart programme, thus, positioning the bank as the SME Bank of Choice in Ghana.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director of CBG, Daniel Addo, said the centre provides SMEs with a one-stop shop for capacity-building and financial support.
According to him, SMEs are the backbone of the Ghanaian economy, contributing about 75% of GDP and constituting almost 85% of businesses in Ghana. He said at the SME centre, experts will provide advisory services to the SMEs.
The managing director announced that Euromoney’s recent ranking of CBG as 2022 Market Leaders in SME is a strong compliment to what the bank has done over the last four years, granting over GH¢1.5billion to the sector. He also touched on the number of activities to boost the sector. These include:
- Introduction of a programme dubbed: ‘CBG Adesua Series’. This programme engages and educates entrepreneurs.
- Partnering with Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) to disburse concessionary loans to 34,000 SMEs.
- Partnering with German International Cooperation (GIZ) to train 500 artisans by December 2022.
- Partnering GIRSAL in supporting the Agric Sector.
The Guest Speaker at the event, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in charge of MSME, lauded CBG for the initiative.
“I am particularly excited about the bank’s focus on prioritising support towards Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) promotion for national development because the growth of our MSMEs largely depends on the financial support that is needed to be injected into viable and high-growth firms, as well as start-ups. I wish to congratulate CBG for its profound support for the promotion of MSMEs in the country.”
The deputy minister further indicated that on an ongoing basis, she would personally visit the centre to see how entrepreneurs are faring.
Earlier in the day, CBG also commissioned its plush Trade Fair Branch located on the Giffard Road. The branch re-emphasises the bank’s commitment to superior customer experience and convenience. The Managing Director, Mr. Daniel Addo, indicated that the bank is embarking on a bank-wide standardisation exercise to project the branches by making them more customer-friendly.
Present at both events were, the Deputy Managing Director – Corporate Resources, Nana Ama Poku; Director – Retail and Business Banking, Emmanuel Nikoi; Director – Global Markets, John Zigah; Director – Operations, Samuel Barketey; Director – Information Technology, George Mensah; General Managers and Heads of Departments of CBG and some customers of the bank.
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