Over 500 dressmaking artisans benefit from gov’t’s GHS1bn stimulus package
Over 500 members of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association have received loans from the government’s GHS1 billion Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS) managed by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) in collaboration with Participating Financial Institutions (PFIs) and selected telecommunication companies.
The CAP Business Support Scheme launched by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in May 2020, forms part of the government of Ghana’s economic relief strategy to support micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) across the country that were affected by the impact of the pandemic.
The CAP Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS), offers two main products – the ‘Adom’ micro soft loans and ‘Anidasuo’ soft loans, as well as a technical support component for MSMEs.
The President of the Ghana National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, Joana Eshun, has confirmed that more of her members have benefitted from the scheme.
“Our members, numbering over 500, have duly received the Adom loans. Thus, on behalf of my association, I wish to thank the President, through NBSSI, for providing this timely relief to sustain our businesses,” she noted in a brief statement.
Joana Eshun also appealed to NBSSI to extend the support to more of their members; “it is a panacea to touch many more lives affected negatively by the Coronavirus pandemic.”
The Programme has already disbursed GHS135 million to beneficiaries, with loan value ranging from GHS500 to GHS10,000 per beneficiary, comprising 72 per cent female beneficiaries and 27 per cent males. Disbursements have so far been made to businesses in all 16 regions of Ghana. The business sectors that have so far received loans include commerce and trade, dressmakers and tailors, agri- and agro-processing, manufacturing, food and beverages, textile and garments, transportation and tourism and hospitality.
The GHS1 billion stimulus package comprises GHS600 million in soft loans and the remainder as matching funds from the participating financial institutions.
In the recent mid-year budget presented to Parliament by Minister of Finance Ken Ofori-Atta, the government of Ghana announced an additional GHS150 million with a one-year moratorium and two-year repayment period to support in relieving Ghanaian MSMEs of the challenges brought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
