SMEs must bring formality into their operations
The
Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Wampah, has advised Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to bring formality into their operations through addressing their governance weaknesses, improving record keeping and honouring obligations promptly to attract the services of banks.
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He said the SMEs housed a large number of companies and provided employment to several people and were also a major driving force of development for any economy, hence the need for them to reform their operations to improve their business.
Speaking at the launch of the 2013 Banking Survey organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers (pwc) Ghana Limited on the theme, “Harnessing the SME potential,” Dr Wampah urged finance houses and banks to give the needed attention to the SMEs.
“The survey results have re-echoed some of the problems of micro, small, medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) which hinder their access to credit. These include poor governance practices, lack of risk management practices, poor record keeping and the fusion of business with personal ownership,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Kama Group of Companies, Dr Michael Agyekum Addo, who chaired the event made a case for the SMEs and called on the banks to see them as development partners.
He also urged the banks to develop relationships with the SMEs by nurturing their businesses as well as providing them the convenient environment to develop their businesses.
The overview of the survey report which was sampled by 26 banks was presented by Mr Oseini Amui, an assurance partner of the pwc.
The report revealed that the Bank of Ghana instituted certain measures to streamline the banking industry, and raised the minimum capital requirement of the banks.
He explained that, responses from the survey was broadly structured into four key areas; markets, strategic value and opportunities, SMEs’ banking needs and available products, services and channels, key challenges associated with SMEs and suitability of banks’ internal systems including risk management systems to handle the SME market. GB
By Ama Amankwah Baafi & Jessica Acheampong