Economist at the University of Ghana Business School, Prof. Patrick Asuming has questioned the sustainability of government's SME Go initiative.

According to him, government’s inability to address basic challenges affecting small businesses will make the policy ineffective.

Speaking to Joy Business at a Quarterly Economic Roundtable organised by the Ministry of Finance and the University of Ghana, Prof. Asuming urged the government to target specific areas within the SME space and reduce the duplication of SME policies.

"I would have preferred we solve the overall business problems before this initiative. We have a long history of government bringing on board such interventions to support businesses but there are issues of sustainability and duplication. How it will be sustained. Will there be no political interference?".

He stressed that a general improvement in the overall economy will be more beneficial to SMEs and create a friendly business environment for the private sector.

"I think Ghanaian businesses will be competitive if the general economic environment is strong and they are not saddled with high taxes and utility”, he said.

Citing some examples, Prof. Asuming reiterated the need to direct investment into agri-business to help positively impact on wealth creation.

He expressed worry that even though government has increased its expenditure to SMEs, agri-business has not adequately received financing.

"Those who don't get these funding support how are they going to survive? If we are going to spend that money, let's look for sectors which will have direct impact on the economy. These days, people are into agribusiness and they need to be supported to create jobs directly”, he said.

Background

Government launched the SME Growth and Opportunity (GO) programme, mobilising a total of GH₵8.2billion to provide financial and technical support to the sector in a major boost to small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

The initiative is aimed at strengthening the country’s private sector and propel the nation towards economic growth.