The Ministry of Trade and Industry has instituted a program dubbed "Business Development Services" (BDS) to provide training and support to small scale businesses. The program is intended to offer support to individuals and groups desirous of establishing their own businesses in the various Municipal, Metropolitan and District Assemblies (MMDAs). Sector Minister, Hannah Tetteh announced this at a day’s seminar on Rural Enterprise Program (REP) to launch phase three of the program in the three northern regions. The Rural Enterprise Program, since its inception in 1995 on a pilot basis has scaled up from 13 to 66, providing job opportunities and reducing poverty in beneficiary districts. The third phase of the programme is expected to cover 161 assemblies nationwide. To this end, the Trade Minister is urging Small to Medium Scaled Enterprises (SMEs) in the country to take advantage of the REP programme to improve on the growth of their respective districts’ economy. The National Programme Director of REP, Kwasi Atta-Antwi explained that the workshop was to inform and create awareness on the effectiveness of REP for leadership of MMDAs who did not have the opportunity to participate in the first and second phases of the programme. He said the third phase will concentrate on access to business development services, transfer of technology, technical skills training and rural MSE financing. The Northern Regional Minister, Moses Bukari Mabengba urged the beneficiaries to take full advantage of opportunities offered to improve on their livelihoods. A total of $185 million is expected to be spent on the project with the government of Ghana providing $83.5 million while the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) contributes $31.5 million and African Development Bank (AFDB) also providing $70 million.