In May 2020, the President of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo launched the Corononavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS) to support Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) that were impacted negatively by the Coronavirus Pandemic. The Scheme started with an initial amount of GHC600 million.
In the mid-year budget review for 2020, the Government through the Ministry of Finance announced an additional GHC150 Million to augment the initial fund. This additional GHC150 million was to target the Media, Arts and Craft, Hospitality Industry and Private Universities.
The National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), an institution set up by Act of Parliament, in 1981 to support MSMEs is charged with the management and disbursement of this Scheme in collaboration with the Telecommunication Companies and some selected Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs).
At the close of application on June 26, 2020, about 895,403 successful applications had been successfully registered in the application portal. As at, NBSSI has disbursed funds to over 300,000 local businesses across the country under CAP BuSS. The beneficiaries of this stimulus package include trade groups and associations across all regions and districts in Ghana. The beneficiaries were selected after due diligence was done with the assistance of the PFIs.
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Speaking to the Media, the Executive Director of NBSSI, Mrs. Kosi Yankey-Ayeh indicated that the stimulus package is designed to support businesses that have suffered from the Covid-19 Pandemic. The Scheme has injected life into the businesses that are struggling and also to sustain the economy. In the midst of the current challenging global and national economies, the Government of Ghana deems it most appropriate to focus on saving and sustaining local businesses in Ghana. “The backbone of every economy is their MSMEs hence the need to support and sustain them during these difficult times with the CAP BuSS Loans. If our economy will survive, our businesses must first survive”, she added.
According to Mrs. Kosi-Yankey, NBSSI has also engaged other Development Partners to assist local businesses. As a result, the Mastercard Foundation has partnered the NBSSI to roll out the NBSSI/Mastercard Foundation COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Program dubbed “Nkosuo program”. In this partnership, the Mastercard Foundation is supporting MSMEs in Ghana with GHC 90 Million.
The Nkosuo Program which is currently closed to application recorded about 510,000 applications after closure of the registration portal. Due diligence is currently ongoing and disbursement is expected to begin soon.
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