Barclays Bank has given a grant of US$2,613,156 for the implementation of the second phase of the Banking on Change (BoC) project, which is expected to increase the wealth creation potential of the youth in beneficiary regions.
The new phase of the project would cover 5,400 youth from 2,700 groups made up of people aged 15 to 35.
Apart from training members in financial literacy, the project would make it less cumbersome the process of linking Village Savings and Loans Associations (VSLAs) that have been established under the project to the banks .
Country Director of Plan Ghana, Mr Prem Shukla, made this known at the launch of the second phase of the BoC project at Bole in the Northern Region last Thursday.
The project is designed to increase the quality of life and well-being of rural households by providing access to savings and credit in the poorest communities of Ghana.
It resulted from a strategic partnership between Care International and Plan Ghana with sponsorship from Barclays Bank UK.
During the first phase of the project, which began in 2009 and ended in 2012, a total of 3,897 VSLAs were formed with a membership of 100,379.
Of this number, Mr Shukla said, 80.61 per cent were women, who are directly benefiting from the project in the Volta, Central, Greater-Accra, Northern, Upper West and Upper East regions.
He said the cumulative savings mobilised during the first phase was GH¢4,644,583, an indication of a surge in the savings of the beneficiaries.
In an address read on his behalf , by a Minister of State at the Presidency, Mr Fiifi Kwetey, President John Dramani Mahama said the collaboration between the three partners that gave birth to the project was commendable and urged other non-governmental organisations to emulate them.
He called on government agencies to strengthen their collaborative efforts with Plan Ghana and Care International to implement projects that would improve the lives of the poor and marginalised in the nation.
Mrs Patience Akyianu, the Managing Director of Barclays Bank, said many factors such as low and unpredictable income made it difficult for the poor and the disadvantaged to access services of commercial banks while the banks, because of risks, often saw no business reason to reach out to the poor.
She said the partnership would continue to build on its successful model for linking the VSLAs to the formal financial system through access to group savings with local Barclays Bank branches. — GNA