The Director of Exploration at oil firm, Tullow Ghana, Appia Kyei has challenged small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs), especially in the oil and gas sector to conduct periodic credit reference checks.

He says this would enable them to avoid credit risks which impede access to finance and investments.

He was the guest speaker at the Africa Partner Pool Business Forum organized by Invest In Africa on the importance of insurance and credit reference reporting to business growth.

The forum formed part of efforts by Invest in Africa to add value to SMEs on its Partner Pool which connects larger international and Ghanaian companies to local businesses.

“Far too long these areas have been neglected by SMEs but they go to the heart of ensuring business sustainability and indeed, access to investment and finance”, Mr. Appia Kyei said.

Country Manager of Invest In Africa, Sam Brandful who opened the forum urged SMEs to constantly gauge the health of their businesses and open up for growth and capacity development by taking up appropriate insurance products and have their credit reference checks done periodically.

Launched in 2014, the Africa Partner Pool of Invest in Africa has approximately thousand three hundred SMEs (suppliers) from various sectors connecting with 15 partners and buyers.