GIZ supports 500 SMEs
THE German Development Agency (GIZ) has held series of business formalisation and registration clinics for 500 small and medium Enterprises (SMEs) in five regions of the country.
The clinics are to sensitise SMEs entrepreneurs on the essence of business formalisation and sponsor the registration of some unregistered SMEs.
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It was under the GIZ Ghana’s Regional Programme Support of Reform Partnerships.
In a press release issued by GIZ in Accra on April 8 stated that the clinics follow a series of workshops on business integrity and financial discipline held last year, where data collected by the consulting firm, Lyme Haus Solutions, indicated that only 38 per cent of participating businesses had registered with the Registrar General’s Department.
“The first two clinics have taken place in Tamale and Sunyani, with 200 participants. The first session of each clinic involves the training of participants on the importance of formalising their businesses, while the second session is a free registration of unregistered SMEs,” the release said.
Formal business registration
The Team Lead for Reform Partnership – Ghana, Richard Huelsmann, in the release said, “Many locally-owned SMEs operate without any formal business registration.
“This denies them several opportunities such as access to financial services and limits their growth and expansion.
“GIZ Ghana is using these clinics to help sensitize SMEs to make them appreciate the need to formalise and also provide financial support to make the registration process possible for them.”
Positive attitude
The Programme’s Technical Advisor, Donald Manlenze Eshun, further said in the release that the clinics will not only seek to sensitise entrepreneurs on the formalisation of their businesses but also adopt a positive attitude towards their business operations.
“We have been impressed with the high level of participation of the entrepreneurs and the interest in registering their businesses. This suggests that the sensitization has been useful to them.
“We are excited about the fact that we have been able to fund the registration of unregistered businesses. We look forward to continuing in the other regions as planned," he said.
Backdrop
The clinics, which will continue in the Western, Ashanti, and Greater Accra regions, come against the backdrop of a Reform and Investment Partnership entered into between the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) and the Ministry of Finance.
The goal is to improve framework conditions for private investment and support for sustainable economic development.
