1D1F Companies to Benefit from Cheap Funds

Government is still in talks with banks in the country, to arrive at a common interest rate for all companies under the One District One Factory Program.

That’s according to the National Coordinator for the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) Secretariat, Gifty Ohene Konadu.

So far GCB, Access Bank, UMB and the Ghana Import and Export Bank (EXIM), have signed up to support the One District One Factory program.

Speaking to Citi Business News, Madam Ohene Konadu stated that the Minister of Trade has met with some financial institutions to design ways of providing affordable credit to companies under the program.

“The Minister of Trade has met with the financial institutions including the banks. They’re trying to settle on a framework that everyone will be comfortable with including government, the promoters and the financial institutions”.

She explained that “the framework being worked on will include the interest rates”.

She added that government was hopeful that the bank would agree to government’s request for a common interest rate in the shortest possible time.

Madam Ohene Konadu was speaking on the sidelines of a business seminar for the One District One Factory program.

The seminar was themed, “Financing the One District One Factory Policy: the Role of Government, Financial Institutions and Entrepreneurs”.

A Deputy Trade and Industry Minister, Robert Ahomka-Lindsay has meanwhile disclosed that all the factories under the flagship program should be operational within the next two years.

Mr. Ahomka-Lindsay revealed that as at January 15, 2018 the Ministry of Trade and Industry had received 642 business plans.

Out of that number, 538 have been reviewed by a panel of experts who have passed 246 of them as bankable.

Background

The One-District One-Factory program is one of the government’s key policy initiatives seeking to revolutionize industry in Ghana.

The program will see at least one factory each, built in all 216 districts across the country.

President Akufo-Addo launched the program by commissioning the first project, a pineapple factory at Ekumfi in the Central Region.