Dr. Ernest Addison, the Governor of the Bank of Ghana (BoG) has said delivering an economically empowered society hinges on strong small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), since the sector account for close to 90% of businesses in the country.

He said the intensive participation of SMEs in the digital economy is essential to economic growth, given how large the sector is.

“Delivering an economically empowered society hinges on strong SMEs, since account for close to 90 percent of businesses. Therefore, facilitating SMEs participation in the digital economy will enhance efficiency, extending market reach, and build their capacity to generate employment opportunities and boost economic growth.

“In addition, the broad-based acceptance of digital payments by SMEs will scale up products and services deployment, and provide digital footprints for improved credit services by financial service providers,” he said.

Dr Addison was speaking at the Business Sans Borders (BSB) stakeholder forum held in Accra on Wednesday (18 August).

The BSB is an initiative between the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the Ministry for Finance which seeks to develop a network of digital platforms to serve as a global public infrastructure to facilitate cross-border trade.

He said with full implementation of the BSB initiative, Ghanaian SMEs will be able to access diversified trade opportunities as well as critical, quality ecosystem facilities such as finance, accounting and business referrals with Singapore.

Dr Addison said the Bank of Ghana and Monetary Authority of Singapore are currently creating a Financial Trust Corridor (FTC), which is a dedicated ecosystem for mutual recognition and closer relationships between businesses, including SMEs and financial institutions, on the platform.

“The Trust Corridor will comprise a governance framework and digital infrastructure for banks and FinTech companies in both countries.

“Participants can then refer to and utilize key information available on the platform for credit assessment – while adhering to domestic and international regulations, including data protection and Anti-Money Laundering requirements. Participating SMEs will have the trust of financial institutions, leading to the much-needed financial sector support for SMEs growth,” he said.