CBG renews commitment to supporting SMEs

Consolidated Bank Ghana Limited (CBG) has iterated its commitment to supporting the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country by commissioning an ultra-modern SME Centre at Kokomlemle to cater for the needs of SME Clients.

Mr. Daniel Addo, the Managing Director of CBG, noted that 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 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and constituting almost 85 per cent of businesses in Ghana.

Mr. Daniel Addo disclosed that at the SME Centre, experts would provide advisory services to SMEs.

The Managing Director announced that Euromoney’s recent ranking of CBG as 2022 Market Leader in the SME sector was a strong complement to what the bank had done over the last four years, granting over GH¢1.5 billion to the sector.

Activities to Boost the SMEs Sector

The Managing Director of CBG also touched on the number of activities to boost the sector namely; the introduction of a programme dubbed CBG Adesua Series to educate entrepreneurs and partnering with Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) to disburse concessionary loans totalling GH¢154 billion to 34,000 SMEs.

The guest speaker, Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry in charge of Micro and Small and Medium-scale Enterprises, 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 of Micro and Small and Medium-scale Enterprises further indicated that she would personally visit the Centre to see how Entrepreneurs are faring.

Dr. John Ampontuah Kumah, the Deputy Minister of Finance in charge of Wealth Creation, commending the bank, praised the bank for its unflinching support to the SME Sector. 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.

According to the Deputy Minister, who is also a Member of Parliament for Ejisu in the Ashanti Region, SMEs accounts for an overwhelming proportion of employment creation in Ghana. “In supporting them, CBG aligns with the government’s agenda for SME growth and development,” he said.

Earlier in the day, CBG also commissioned its plush Trade Fair Branch located on Giffard Road. The branch re-emphasises the bank’s commitment to superior customer experience and convenience. The Managing Director of the bank indicated that the bank is embarking on a bank-wide standardisation exercise to project the branches by making them more customers friendly.