An agreement was signed between the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT) Informal Sector Fund, HFC Bank Ghana Limited, and Boafo Microfinance Services Limited to encourage the administration of credit to informal sector entrepreneurs who are contributors of SSNIT. Each of the collaborators will play an active role in the agreement, the purpose of which is to strengthen the economic security of people in the informal sectors, through the growth of businesses and occupational pension funds, in order to assist in the guarantee of economically stable households. The agreement has been conveyed by Director of the SSNIT informal sector fund, Dr. Francis Sapara-Grant, as an indication of “the need to harness the efforts of complementary institutions in the promotion of the welfare of the elderly and the eradication of destitution from the country” and a demonstration “that the business of providing social protection to the Ghanaian worker has assumed a different dimension through this creative and innovative approach”.
Search Results for: Ghana
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Study Reveals Ghanaian Women Still Face Challenges Accessing Microfinance
A recent study funded by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge Fund (BUSAC) has revealed that rural women accessing microfinance in Ghana continue to face barriers when compared with men. Dr. Irene S. Egyir, Lead Researcher on the project and Lecturer at the University of Ghana, spoke at a sensitization workshop saying that although women were participating in productive sectors, their lack of access to microfinance made it difficult for them to play their roles effectively, reported in The Ghanaian Journal. The research indicated that though most financial institutions had embraced the challenge of assisting micro businesses, females continued to receive less access to such credits.
PRESS RELEASE: Advans SA of Luxembourg Opens Microfinance Institution in Ghana
Source: Advans SA.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Ghanaian Government Loans $625k to Individuals and Groups in the Upper East Region of Ghana through its Microfinance and Small Loans Centre, MASLOC
The Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), the microcredit unit of the Ghanaian government, recently loaned GHS 610,000 (approximately USD 625,243) to 3,500 individuals in the Upper East Region of Ghana. MicroCapital recently reported on MASLOC’s loans of GHS 300,000 (USD 303,797) to entrepreneurs in the Upper West Region of Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: The Government of Ghana Loans GHS 300,000 (USD 303,797) to Entrepreneurs in Upper West Region through MASLOC, the Micro-finance and Small Loans Centre
The Ghanaian Government recently loaned GHS 300,000 (USD 303,797) via its Micro-finance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC). The GHS 300,000 was divided into loans of between GHS 2,500 (USD 2,532) and GHS 3,000 (USD 3,038), to be distributed to 164 groups of the Upper West Region of Ghana. The loans were given to groups throughout each district of the region. The government aims at providing for both small business and farming activities of 2,270 individuals.
MICROFINANCE EVENT: Making Finance Work for Africa Meeting in Ghana in June
MAKING FINANCE WORK FOR AFRICA – PARTNERSHIP MEETING
JUNE 17 – JUNE 18, 2008, ACCRA, GHANA
The Partnership for Making Finance Work for Africa is an initiative to support the efforts of African countries to accelerate economic growth and reduce poverty. This event is to inlcude:
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Incofin of Luxembourg Lends $2m to Guatemalan Microfinance Institution (MFI) FUNDEA, $1m to Bolivian MFI FADES, and $300k to Ghanaian MFI Sinapi Aba Trust
The Microfinance Capital Markets Newsletter of the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) reported that Incofin, a Luxembourg-based social investment company, has issued loans of USD 2 million to Guatemalan microfinance institution (MFI) FUNDEA, USD 1 million to Bolivian MFI FADES, and USD 300,000 to Ghanaian MFI Sinapi Aba Trust.
NEWS WIRE: Ghana: Microfinance Institution Network Touts txtnpay Mobile Banking Service
Source: The Ghanaian Chronicle.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Non-Profit ACCION International and Africa’s Ecobank Group Launch Microfinance Institution (MFI) in Ghana
ACCION International, a microfinance-oriented non-profit, and Ecobank, a banking group with operations throughout Africa, have partnered to launch microfinance bank EB-ACCION Savings & Loan in Ghana.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: Oikocredit of the Netherlands Invests USD 4.7 million in Microfinance Institutions in India and Ghana
The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) recently reported Oikocredit, a Dutch cooperative fund invested USD 4.7 million in loans to microfinance institutions in India and Ghana this past February 2008. A loan of USD 1.2 million went to Semam Microfinance Investment Literacy and Empowerment PVT (SMILE) of Madurai, India. Gram-Utthan, a CARE CASHE project in Orissa, India received a loan of USD 1.5 million, and Amalgamated Bank Limited of Ghana was granted a loan of USD 2 million.
PRESS RELEASE: Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX) Closes Workshop on SEEP Framework in Ghana
Source: Microfinance Information eXchange (MIX).
PRESS RELEASE: Cadbury to Work With United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to Expand Access to Microfinance for Cocoa Farmers in Ghana and Elsewhere
Source: Cadbury.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: ‘The Micro Finance and Small Loans Fund’ in Ghana Disburses USD 7.5m Loans in Three Months
The Ghanian Government has disbursed USD 7.5 million (GHC 72 billion) in microfinance loans in the last three months, via its new agency, ‘The Micro Finance and Small Loans Centre’ (MASLOC). The agency manages the government fund designed make sustainable financial services available to individuals, co-operatives and other groups in grassroot communities in both urban and rural areas.
MICROCAPITAL STORY: CGAP-Supported Global Microfinance Consumer Protection Campaign Launched in Ghana by GHAMFIN and SPEED Ghana
The Ghana Microfinance Institutions Network (GHAMFIN) and SPEED Ghana have teamed up to launch a consumer education and protection (CEP) campaign that specifically targets customers of the country’s microfinance sector. The campaign, a global initiative promoted by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP) and the Small Enterprise and Education Promotion Network (SEEP), seeks to ensure that clients are treated fairly and with respect by financial institutions.
NEWS WIRE: Ghana: Speed Ghana Introduces Rating Service for Microfinance Institutions
MICROCAPITAL STORY: SPEED Ghana Launches a Ratings Service for Local Microfinance Institutions With Support from GTZ and DANIDA
Support Programme for Enterprise Employment and Development (SPEED), a Ghanian NGO that provides technical assistance and development services to microfinance institutions (MFIs), has introduced a ratings service for smaller financial institutions in Ghana. The initiative has been supported by GTZ, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische Zusammenarbeit GmbH, the international sustainable development enterprise owned by the German federal government, and DANIDA, the Danish International Development Agency.