President Akufo-Addo has disclosed that Ghana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development (EBID) to secure a $200 million facility for on lending to Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

Speaking on day one of the 3i Africa Summit, the president disclosed that the Finance Minister signed the MoU on behalf of Ghana on Friday May 10, 2024.

“In furtherance of our objective of providing financial access to SMEs, the Minister for Finance and president of EBID signed last Friday in Togo, a MOU for 200 million dollar facility to disbused though the Ghana Commercial Bank and the Ghana EXIM Bank to SMEs”, he said.

President Akufo-Addo reiterated government’s commitment to fund the operations of SMEs at lower interest rate to sustain their operations.

Addressing the gathering earlier, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison called for more investment in Africa’s fintech space.

According to Dr. Addison, the move will accelerate the rate of development and innovation.

He explained that the industry’s potential largely depends on this issue and the ability for start-ups to access capital.

“…The lack of requisite Investment in African fintechs could slow the pace of innovation and scalability of solutions in achieving the desired impact of a digitized Africa,” he said.

The 3i Summit

The event seeks to generate greater momentum and traction for Africa’s digital finance agenda by causing finance, policy and technology to meet at the crossroads has started at the Accra International Conference Centre for the next three days.