Absa Bank Ghana Limited, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, has invested more than GHS 1.1 billion to support 5,700 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through its Absa Young African Works (AYAW) programme from 2020 to the present. The initiative has also provided training to over 6,000 SMEs, including smallholder farmers, and created more than 24,000 jobs for young Ghanaians.
Madam Audrey Abakah, Director of SMEs, Agency Banking, and Partnerships at Absa Bank Ghana, revealed these figures during a media briefing following a field tour of some SMEs that have benefited from the programme.
Launched in October 2020, the AYAW project aims to create 50,000 decent jobs for young men and women by empowering SMEs with entrepreneurial skills training and collateral-free business loans at a 10 percent interest rate. The five-year programme, running from 2020 to 2025, has been crucial in job creation and providing entrepreneurial support, particularly in underserved sectors and communities.
Madam Abakah explained that the initiative was launched in response to the financial challenges businesses faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Businesses were struggling to generate or access funding from financial institutions due to the perceived risk of investing in SMEs at that time,” she said. “Recognizing that SMEs are the engine of growth in our economy, we knew we needed to take action to support them.”
Of the GHS 1.1 billion invested, approximately 50 percent has been directed towards SMEs in the agricultural sector, given the sector’s potential for job creation across the value chain.
Mr Eric Danquah, General Manager of G Billy Farms Limited, a commercial pineapple-producing company based in Nsawam, and a beneficiary of the Absa AYAW initiative, said the support from the Bank had helped them to upscale their farm production as well increase their staff strength from 17 to 70 workers at the farm.
He said prior to accessing the financial support, they were facing a lot of financial constraints that had led them to lay off most of their workers and reduced their production.
The Company had accessed support from the AYAW between 2021 and 2024, receiving GHS 3.3 million.
Also, Mr Godwin Edem Adordie, CEO of Praise Exports Services Limited, an agro-processing export company, said they had increased their exports from 200 metric tonnes to 300 metric tonnes after receiving support from the bank.He added that their staff strength had also increased from 120 to 165 staff.
Madam Catherine Krobo Edusei, Managing Director of Eden Tree Limited, producers and distributors of fresh fruits and vegetables, said the support from the Bank came in at an opportune time for her company because they were facing financial constraints.
She said they accessed GHS 1million from the Bank which helped them pay their suppliers and salaries of workers to make up for the delay in payments from their clients who could not pay them on time.
