The Ghana Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) has launched a credit union to provide credit facilities to SMEs under flexible payment terms and low-interest rates.

Speaking at the launch of the Credit Union, Dr Nana Appiagyei Dankawoso 1 said the move is to give SMEs the wherewithal to remain a force in the African market.

According to him, “the credit union is needed to equip business both in Ghana and elsewhere with the capital they need to emerge in the Ghanaian or African market. What this means is that there will be an opportunity to get these loans with low-interest rates”.

Guest Speaker, and former General Manager for the Credit Union Association of Ghana, Emmanuel Oduro Darko revealed that Ghana’s credit union industry is work GHS1 trillion.

According to Mr Oduro Darko, “the decision by the Chamber to establish a credit union goes a long way to place the Chamber as a key stakeholder to the growth and expansion of the private sector”.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been the backbone of Ghana’s economic and social development for the past decades. They are the major driving force for business development, employment creation, production of goods and services and internal income generation in Ghana.

SMEs are seen by most analysts as the productive drivers of economic growth and development worldwide, and particularly in Africa.

In Ghana, they contribute about 70 per cent to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and account for 92 per cent of businesses in the country.

However, difficulty in accessing funds – brought on by poor record-keeping, lack of collateral, and the reluctance of universal banks to design products for this all-important sector – has served to constrain their growth.

The GNCCI has purchased shares amounting to 100,000 cedis. Member firms and individuals can also purchase shares of more than twenty per cent of the total shares of the Credit Union.