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Presidential Business Support 3rd Window:GH₵50m soft loan for 5,000 start-ups
Five thousand business startups are to benefit from a soft loan facility totaling GH₵50million under the third window of the Presidential Business Support Programme (PBSP) which opens across the country today.
The beneficiaries would be selected from 26,000 entrepreneurs from all districts whose capacity would be built in marketing and business management as part of the programme.
Launched by President Nana Addo in 2017, the PBSP is aimed at assisting Ghanaian businesses with capacity building, money and funding for young entrepreneurs and start-ups.
At the launch of the new window in Accra yesterday, Minister of Business Development, Dr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal said 19,000 startups supported under the previous windows had created 90,000 jobs.
This, he said, was a testament of the need to support the youth to be job creators instead of job seekers since only two per cent of the nearly 250,000 young people who graduate get jobs in the formal sector.
“The rest must find jobs in the private sector hence the president’s commitment to entrepreneurship to train them, equip them, fund them and build capacity so that they can create jobs and employ more people,” he said.
According to Dr Awal, the country was largely a youthful population with three per cent of the young people below 30 years and that the government was determined to use the programme as a resource to enhance national development and create wealth for the people.
On his part, John Kumah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Programme (NEIP), the agency coordinating the programme, said this year’s edition had been extended from 19,000 beneficiaries to 26,000 and GH₵40million to GH₵50 million to support more people.
He said 100 beneficiaries would be selected from each of 260 districts across the country and given loans ranging between GH₵5,000 and GH₵50, 000 with 10 per cent interest.
The interest, he said, was to sustain the pool of fund and support other people as well as incorporate the culture of loan repayments to enable them approach banks for loans in the future.
This year, he said, application had been decentralised and not done exclusively online, in response to concerns raised by prospective beneficiaries in the rural areas that internet access was an impediment.
He assured all prospective applicants of a fair and selection process as private consultants would be in charge of the selection after which the Monitoring and Evaluation department of the ministry would follow up.
“It is a very fair and transparent process. I urge all to apply through their district assemblies, every Ghanaian with a business idea is qualified,” he said.
On the recovery of loans, Mr Kumah, said it was about 70 per cent but the COVID-19 had slowed down recovery rate.
BY JONATHAN DONKOR
News
National Service Authority goes cashless
The National Service Authority (NSA) has announced a mandatory transition to a cashless payment system.
This initiative aligns with the government’s drive to modernize revenue collection.
In a statement, NSA noted that effective immediately, all user agencies and stakeholders are directed to make all payments,
including the 20% and 10% administrative service charges, through the GHANA.GOV platform.
This shift to digital payments offers greater transparency, convenience and accessibility for those working with the NSA.
By Edem Mensah-Tsotorme
Read the full statement below
News
Greater Accra Regional Minister calls on traders to operate within designated spaces to ease congestion
The Greater Accra Regional Minister, Linda Obenewaa Akweley Ocloo, has called on traders in the city to operate within designated spaces to ease congestion and maintain cleanliness in market centres.
Speaking with traders at the Kaneshie Market on February 4, 2025, during a tour of selected market centres to assess sanitation challenges, reinforce government commitment to address indiscriminate refuse disposal, and improve market conditions, the minister called for collaboration between traders and local authorities to address sanitation and maintain order.
She assured the new government’s commitment to addressing urban challenges and improving market conditions in Accra as part of its broader agenda for a cleaner city.
“We are here to engage you in a conversation about our mission to improve cleanliness in Greater Accra. We are taking into account the conditions of the roads, your problems, and your suggestions. Most walkways have been taken over by traders instead of serving their original purpose, which leads to traffic congestion. We want to understand your challenges so that we can find the best way to assist you,” the Minister stated.
The Minister who was accompanied by officials from the Greater Accra Regional Coordinating Council ( GARCC) led by the Chief Director of the GARCC, Mrs. Lilian Baeka, some staff from the Accra Metropolitan Assembly(AMA) and other sister assemblies in the Region used the opportunity to enquire about the state of waste disposal within the market and the efficiency of refuse collection by the assemblies.
“Does it take long for the refuse to be collected after it is gathered? These are some of the issues we want to address,” she added, inviting traders to share their thoughts.
The President of the Greater Accra Markets Association, Mrs. Mercy Naa Afrowa Needjan who welcomed the minister, expressed gratitude for the visit and assured traders commitment to rally support behind her as a woman in leadership.
”In the market, we face numerous challenges we wish to discuss. There are various groups of traders with some selling at the top, others beneath, while some can be relocated, others should be removed. However, we must follow due process to ensure that people’s livelihoods are not affected. She cannot do it alone, and we are ready to support her efforts,” she stated.
She noted that efforts to regulate trading activities, especially on the Kaneshie overhead footbridge, had proven difficult despite continuous engagements with the police.
Madam Mercy Naa Afrowa Needjan identified street trading as a major concern, explaining that it had significantly affected business inside the main markets.
“Our major problem is those selling outside. Because of them, the market is now dry. Almost everyone has moved onto the streets. They are our brothers and sisters, and we want them inside the market. There are a lot of vacant spaces they can occupy,” she said.
On sanitation, she remarked that significant progress had been made, stressing that previously, the Kaneshie market was associated with rubbish, but the story had changed for good.
