A state initiative aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of small and medium enterprises to shore up employment and reduce poverty has chalked some results, generating 2,081 fulltime jobs since the project began in May 2007. This figure is expected to increase by 75 per cent to 3,658 by the end of 2010, thus rekindling the hope that bolstering micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) would be key to giving Ghana’s overall economy a lift. Dubbed; the Ghana MSME Project, the World Bank funded scheme aims at enhancing the competitiveness of MSMEs through access to finance, markets and entrepreneurial development. This idea is premised on the fact that although MSMEs provide the bulk of employment in Ghana, they are, nonetheless, saddled with myriad of institutional and structural difficulties that hinder their efficiency. Speaking at a review workshop on the project in Accra on Thursday, Mr Ato Simpson, a Business Development Specialist, was confident the project would have generated some 3,658 jobs by 2010, up by 75 per cent from 2009 initial figure of 2,081 in the garments, horticulture, construction, agriculture and tourism sectors. He said similar successes were expected in other components of the project with beneficiaries in the garment sector expected to boost state revenue from the current GH¢2.2 million to over GH¢16 million by next year, in addition to generating over 250 jobs during that same period. The agriculture sector, he said, was also projected to increase their share of revenue to government by almost 50 per cent from the current GH¢4.8 million to more GH¢8 million by next year. Mr. Simpson said the project had so far approved 2.2 million dollars to 98 institutional and individual applicants out of the 4.5 million-dollar fund. Patronage for the facility is highest in the Greater Accra Region with the Central Region posting the least result, a situation which, Mr. Simpson said, his organization was working to correct through an enhanced communication campaign. The President of the Ghana Apparel Manufacturers Association, Madam Nora Bannerman Abbott, described the project as a good opportunity for MSME to strengthen their capacity and skills development. She, however, appealed to the implementers to work to address some bottlenecks that arose in the project’s implementation, which, she said, if not addressed forthwith, could negate the effectiveness of the programme. One such problem, she pointed out, was the capacity of some accredited banks to engage in a through appraisal of bids submitted to them in a timely fashion. Source: GNA