The government of Ghana has launched a GH¢2 billion ($343m) guarantee scheme to support universal banks in the country to offer financial support to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) for them to recover from the COVID-19 shocks.

The Ghana Care Guarantee Scheme (GCGS), to be administered by the Ghana Incentive-based Risk-sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL), is to help SMEs to borrow from banks at lower rates and with longer tenor.

The GIRSAL is a non-bank financial institution incorporated as a private company by the Ministry of Finance, with seed funding from the Bank of Ghana (BoG) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).

The GCGS will guarantee up to 80 per cent of the credit extended by participating banks to their clients.

Charles Rapulu Udoh

Charles Rapulu Udoh is a Lagos-based lawyer who has advised startups across Africa on issues such as startup funding (Venture Capital, Debt financing, private equity, angel investing etc), taxation, strategies, etc. He also has special focus on the protection of business or brands’ intellectual property rights ( such as trademark, patent or design) across Africa and other foreign jurisdictions.
He is well versed on issues of ESG (sustainability), media and entertainment law, corporate finance and governance.
He is also an award-winning writer