A Volunteer group of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) made up of professionals from diverse backgrounds has held an Entrepreneurship roundtable discussions for some Stakeholders in the Entrepreneurship Ecosystem. Dubbed P4C Roundtable series, this is a platform for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government to meet players from different Industries to explain Government programmes and interventions to them in addition to the NPP Party’s manifesto promises and programmes for the next term. This session had participants from GUTA, Entrepreneurship Hubs Networks and other business associations.
The Entrepreneurship Roundtable discussions which was held at the Accra Digital Centre had CEO of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) – Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, CEO of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Program (NEIP) - John Kumah and Head of credit of MASLOC - Paul Sarbeng being the Resource Persons. The President of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Dr. Joseph Obeng spoke on behalf of the business community.
Addresses
Giving the opening remarks, the National Coordinator of P4C, Kofi Ofosu Nkansah explained that P4C has created the roundtable series to provide a platform for interactions between Government actors and industry players across various sectors as part of the 2020 Campaign programmes of the group.
Mrs. Yankey-Aryeh in her address indicated Government has supported over 200,000 micro, small and medium scale enterprises through the Coronavirus Alleviation Program Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS) and other NBSSI programmes. The NBSSI-MasterCard foundation Nkosuo program with an initial commitment of Ghc 90 million has also been launched to support more MSMEs.
John Kumah on his part explained the various NEIP modules and how they have impacted on businesses; Over 10,000 businesses have received funding from NEIP for sums between Ghc 2,000 and Ghc 100,000 while over 45,000 businesses have received training and incubation support services. President Akufo-Addo’s Government intends supporting businesses with a USD 200 million fund in the second term when given the mandate again. Head of Credit of Masloc also gave an overview on the support Masloc has given businesses. The number of businesses supported so far is about 5 times the number which was supported during the NDC’s 8 year term.
In his Address, GUTA President, Dr. Joseph Obeng lauded Government’s cooperation and support for the business community. This included reductions on import duty, CAP BuSS loan support, and access to Government Authorities among others. He also touched on a few challenges businesses face which included lack of access to affordable capital.
The floor was open for questions from various business associations. The Resource persons took their time to explain the issues to the groups. Participants praised P4C for providing such a platform for them and requested for a repeat of the programme to further deepen the relationship between Government and the Business community.
Other P4C National officers at the programme were Prince Opoku-Edusei, Grace Gloria Obuobi, Dede Adamptey-Tetteh and Akosua Nyarko Sika.
