Chief Executive of the Africa Business Innovation Forum, Precious Gyau, has disclosed that some SMEs do not have the needed support in banking to enable them become competitive players in the country. Following this, he advised the involvement of banking institutions to train entrepreneurs on best practices relevant to their businesses.

Mr Gyau revealed that this has become imperative due to the impact of Covid-19 which has heavily impacted on some small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs).

According to him, SME’S need empowerment to excel in their businesses. As such, this has led to the establishment of the Africa Business Innovation Forum that is designed to train SMEs to make the most out of their businesses through technology and digitisation.

Mr Gyau expressed his belief that the initiative will help SMEs expand by using data available to get access to credit facilities.

“For me after this forum, there will be a new spirit and a new kind of engagement in how we do business in Ghana. Small businesses in Ghana are struggling, and one of the things we spoke about is digitising SME banking. An SME should be able to present his mobile money transaction data to be able to access credit. Somebody who sells food by the roadside should be able to present her mobile money transactions to a bank like First National Bank or any other bank for credit; and it should be feasible”.
Precious Gyau

Digitization of SMEs transactions

On his part, Head of Business and Commercial Banking at First National Bank, Mark Acheampong, indicated that proper documentation and digitisation of transactions can help SMEs get resources that could help them grow their businesses.

“We are de-emphasizing cheques because we believe that’s the new way of payment. If you look at our merchant services propositions, we’ve rolled out programmes that allow SMEs especially the small ones to grow and have easy access to cash.

“Cash is gradually dying out and we need to look at digital platforms that enable that. We’ve looked at QR codes, we’ve looked at MoMo integration and normal card payments, and those are the things we’ve looked at”.
Mr Mark Acheampong

Tailored packages for SMEs

Banks play a pivotal role in the success of every economy, but in economies such as Ghana, it is particularly banks that understand and prioritize Micro, Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (MSMEs) that will be the champions of all time.

In September last year, First National Bank Ghana announced the introduction of a tailored package for small and medium-scale enterprises. The package was intended to help address some major challenges that hinder the growth of SMEs in the country.

Mark Achiampong, First National Bank’s Head of Commercial and Business Banking revealed that the new SME offering is hinged on three key pillars. This includes, Start, Run and Grow, which is packed with a suite of business toolkits as well as advisory services for small and medium businesses.

“Our new business Gold cheque account is versatile, with hassle-free options that allow you to perform your daily transactions and are suited to small-medium enterprises (SME’s).
Mr Mark Acheampong