The Bank of Ghana (BOG) has commenced discussions with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to adopt the Business sans Borders (BSB) open hub of platforms between Singapore and Ghana.
It is anticipated that this partnership will benefit the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and micro-SMEs (MSMEs) which comprise majority of businesses and play an important role in both countries.
An initiative as this is more expedient amid this global crisis where supply chains are broken down affecting businesses and livelihoods and as such are targeted to help the SMEs and MSMEs of Singapore and Ghana achieve sustainable growth for the post-COVID 19 pandemic recovery.
This will involve expanding connectivity in both countries with their counterpart economy while introducing innovative FinTech and digital tools to help SMEs in completing their day-to-day business needs. MAS and BOG will also work together on a complementary Financial Trust Corridor (FTC) initiative to engender trust, trade and recognition between both countries’ businesses and financial institutions.
Commenting on the new initiative, the Chief FinTech Officer at MAS, Sopnendu Mohanty pronounced that his outfit is “excited to partner BOG to create the world’s first SME financial trust corridor as well as welcome Ghana into Business sans Borders, an innovative global infrastructure initiative.
“Together we can start to build increased trade flows and enhance financial trust and support between our economies through both the FTC and BSB initiatives. Proxtera, a new private entity supported by MAS and IMDA, will help to operationalise BSB and the FTC.
“With time, these efforts will scale towards a new global paradigm where our SMEs and financial institutions are trusted internationally and have seamless access to wider financing, new trade opportunities and intuitive digital tools,” he remarked.
Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, First Deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana sharing his thoughts enunciated that “Indeed, we are glad to be a part of this partnership with MAS. The choice of Ghana is an absolute endorsement of how our technological capabilities are growing and will impact strongly on SMEs, in addition to building a robust, resilient and well-connected FinTech Hub”.
BSB is a joint initiative pioneered by MAS and Infocomm Media Development Authority which leverages on Articificial intelligence (AI) to build a global digital infrastructure for seamless trade and digital business services connectivity, thereby facilitating commerce and exchange of best-in-class technologies and services.
MAS and BOG will be closely involved with each country’s trade bodies, platforms, SME associations and financial sector in the adoption of the BSB meta-hub connectivity, which will simplify how SMEs and ecosystems from Singapore and Ghana can discover new buyers, suppliers and key financial and business services.
The SME FTC, to be led by MAS and BOG, comprises a governance framework and a digital infrastructure which banks and FinTech companies in both countries could rely on and utilise when sharing critical information relevant for credit assessment, whilst abiding by domestic and international regulations, such as data protection and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.
Ultimately, this would lead to greater international trust in each country’s SMEs. Through its overseas centre in Accra, Enterprise Singapore will also work with relevant parties to ensure Singapore and Ghanaian companies benefit from the BSB and FTC.
