The Venture Capital and Private Equity Association (VCPEA) says it is scaling up support for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as more firms enter the country’s equity financing space.

Board Chairman of the Association, Matthew Boadu, disclosed this on the sidelines of the Venture Capital Annual Industry Conference in Accra. He told Joy Business that the sector has witnessed significant growth, making it necessary to increase backing for small businesses.

According to Matthew Boadu, Ghana’s equity fund space has expanded notably in recent years.

“We have seen a lot more players coming into the space to offer equity financing, and that should send a signal that the sector is growing significantly. This means we are doing more to scale up financing to SMEs and other areas where it is most needed,” he said.

The annual industry conference, organised by the Venture Capital and Private Equity Association, serves as a platform for capacity building and exploring ways to attract more funding for members’ operations.

Speaking at the same event, Chief Executive of the Venture Capital Trust Fund, Michael Abbey, called for more pension funds to be channelled into profitable entrepreneurial ventures rather than skills alone.

“I think we also need to create that trust for ourselves to be able to attract more pension funds and patient capital to support businesses and economic growth. SMEs need our little investments to grow. They need it to take the economy higher, and we must make it a point to support,” Abbey charged.

Chief Executive of the Association, Amma Gyampo, noted that this year’s conference was designed to serve SME counterparts with capacity-building tools while creating a platform to share impactful stories.

“We have made this year’s event outstanding in order to serve our SME counterparts with some capacity-building stuff and also create the platform for more of the impact works that we have done to be shared. You can hear many of the speakers on pension funds because we are doing more to ensure that pension funds are directed towards supporting the SME sector and areas where patient capital is needed,” she said.

The event was held under the theme: “Fueling Ghana’s Future Through Domestic Alternative Investments and Unlocking Trapped Capital” — a reference to idle funds that could be deployed into long-term, high-impact local ventures.