Volta Regional minister commends GEXIM for prioritising SMEs

The Volta Regional Minister, Honourable Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, has commended the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) for prioritizing Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) over the years.

The Minister further lauded the Bank for providing various forms of support to Ghanaian businesses over the years, including loans, capacity building and advisory services.

The Minister expressed his appreciation to GEXIM for replicating its popular Tuesday Market in the Volta region which is titled the Volta Western Weekend.

“I am excited to be here at the opening ceremony of the Volta Weekend Market taking place in Ho, from today to Saturday,” he said.

He added the three-day fair presented an opportunity for SMEs in the region to showcase their products for patronage and also get feedback on how to enhance their products for a wider market.

” It is also to help take these products into the international market. We hope to have more opportunities for Ghanaian businesses in various sectors across the Volta region going forward to help them scale up and move to the next level”, he emphasized.

Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa was speaking at the opening ceremony of the “Volta Weekend Market” at Ho Bankoe (Movie Street) on Thursday 26th September 2024. The “Volta Weekend Market” took place from 26th to 28th September 2024 and coincided with the 2024 celebration of the annual Yam Festival by the Asogli State.

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Kofi Ahenkorah Marfo in his remarks highlighted that the government considers the SME sector as a key contributor to economic growth and stated some initiatives introduced by the government over the years.

“The government is committed to growing the SME sector and this is evident with the recent launch of the SME Growth and Opportunities Programme by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry and other government agencies and partners. This has been followed up with a sensitization exercise across the country. The fair by GEXIM, a strategic partner in this initiative, presents an opportunity to further engage SMEs in the region”, he added.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer, indicated that the “The Volta Weekend Market” is a platform created by the Bank for SMEs across the Volta region and other Ghanaian entrepreneurs in neighboring regions to showcase carefully selected top-quality and uniquely packaged Made-In-Ghana products.

In fact, this is the region’s biggest fair exclusively for Made-In-Ghana products and services.

“We have over fifty Ghanaian entrepreneurs with unique products participating in this three-day fair. Some of the very unique, and authentic products being exhibited at unbeatable prices include food and ingredients, beverages, skin and beauty care products, textiles, apparel, garments, leather footwear, slippers, and many others,” she stated.

As a leading Policy and Development Bank, the Ghana Export – Import Bank has over the years made significant interventions and given support to Ghanaian businesses in various priority sectors of the economy. In the last seven years, the Bank has made a deliberate attempt to provide various forms of support to Ghanaian SMEs.