Ghana, Italy to strengthen economic ties

Mr Iddrisu said the government had prioritised private sector development as key to economic development, and was, therefore, prepared to “work hard to ensure continued disbursement of funds to support SMEs in Ghana.”

The trade minister, however, called for more relaxed and favourable terms to “ensure that start-up SMEs benefit from the fund.”

For her part, Ms Carpini, pledged her government’s willingness to continue to support the growth of the Ghanaian economy, adding that the GPSDF projects were a priority one for the Italian government and that it stood to benefit the two countries. 

The Ghana Private Sector Development Facility is an SME support programme which seeks to provide soft loans to Ghanaian entrepreneurs. 

In 2011, the Italian government, through its development partners, granted €20 million to the government to support private sector development.  The first phase of the project saw the disbursement of €11 million to SMEs between 2004 and 2008.