About 25,000 micro small medium enterprises (MSMEs) and startups have been earmarked to receive financial assistance to support their businesses following the launch of the COVID-19 and Resilience Programme in Accra yesterday. Dubbed: ‘The Nkosuo Support’ the programme is a collaboration between the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) and the MasterCard Foundation, and it aims to strengthen businesses in the MSME sector that is adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“While we appreciate the scarcity and the limits we have with resources, the NBSSI representing the government through the Ministry of Trade and Industry reached out to our friends and development partners to complement the efforts of the Government of Ghana in assisting MSMEs. Thankfully MasterCard Foundation responded positively to our proposal with an amount of GHS 90 million to support our MSMEs under a programme dubbed the Nkosuo,” Executive Director of the NBSSI, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh.

Here Is What You Need To Know

• In all about 90 million Ghana cedis ($15.6mn) will be disbursed in grants and loans to MSMEs in agriculture and agro-businesses, water and sanitation, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, trade and commerce, garment and personal protective equipment, the creative arts industry, manufacturing, food and beverage among others.
• The objective of this fund is to provide support to our MSMEs and urge them on from resilience to progress hence the name NKOSUO. This programme with Mastercard Foundation marks the beginning of a new era for MSMEs in Ghana: an era that opens its doors to development partners for new, innovative and strategic partnerships as this one with Mastercard Foundation,” she said.
• Mrs Yankey-Ayeh said that an online portal had been created to ensure easy accessibility to the registration and application forms and encouraged prospective applicants to visit the online platform of the NBSSI or contact the nearest NBSSI Business Advisory Centre (BAC) within their districts and regional offices across the country for help if need be.
• She explained that the programme has a one-year moratorium and a two-year repayment period and focused on supporting MSMEs and start-ups in sectors

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.
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