The National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) says over fourteen thousand business owners have applied for government’s one billion stimulus package in less than a week.

According to NBBSI, majority of the applicants are within the agribusiness and education sectors.

This follows President Akufo-Addo’s launch of the GHC1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme on Tuesday 19th May, 2020.

The package is intended to cushion Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises affected by the outbreak of COVID-19.

In an interview with Citi Business News, Executive Director of NBSSI, Esi Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, said the funds will be disbursed soon.

“As at the last time I checked, we have over 14000 applicants who have registered for the program, and are on the system. We have seen agriculture, agribusiness which is relatively high. We have also seen other services which is another sub-section and also private education. The President promised May. We launched in May and we will ensure that the funds go out. We have set timelines for ourselves and targets for our people to get the funds so that they can utilize it and maximize its impact,” she noted.

The outbreak of the novel Coronavirus which hit the country in March, severely affected many sectors of the economy.

As a result, several businesses and organizations have appealed for support from government to stay in business.

Akufo-Addo announces GHS1bn stimulus package for businesses

As part of measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic in Ghana to sustain businesses, President Akufo-Addo in March announced that all households and small to medium scale enterprises are to benefit from a stimulus package of one billion Ghana cedis.

The initial amount for the the SMEs was pegged at GHS600 million, but has been increased to GHS1 billion following a commitment by some participating financial institutions.

Source: Citibusinessnews.com