Deputy Finance Minister, Seth Terkper, has enjoined Ghanaian businesses to access a financing facility under the China Development Bank (CDB) loan to enhance their operations.

The six year loan facility is an agreement between the Government of Ghana and the CDB to finance infrastructure development projects, including land, rail, water transportation and port management, value addition to oil and gas, and irrigation for agriculture.

According to Mr. Terkper, the second phase of the US$3 billion master facility agreement, which has 12 subsidiary agreements, will be private sector oriented.

Among the 12 eligible projects identified for financing under the facility is a US$ 100 million SME Projects Incubation Facility.

Speaking at the launch of the ‘Africa Means Business’ initiative in Accra, the Deputy Finance Minister encouraged local businesses to take advantage of the facility.

He particularly challenged the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) to “study the potential of the CDB facility because of the potential for petrochemical; because of the potential that it has to establish small scale businesses to substitute for imports so that we can all ease the pressures that we have on the Cedi today”.

GUTA President, George Ofori is enthusiastic the facility could be beneficial in the expansion drive of private enterprises, whilst aiding start-ups with challenges in accessing capital.

He however expects the government to improve its information dissemination and communication of availability financial packages to targeted groups through the various ministries, departments and agencies.

“If you have an idea or you have a facility and you don’t get to the target group who are supposed to access the facility, the facility will be there and sometimes you even hear that some grants that are given to Ghana are sometimes returned back to the donor community because it was not accessed”, Mr. Ofori Observed.

He therefore wants government to spell out modalities for accessing the CDB facility in order for interested businesses to be adequately prepared in their application processing.

Story by Kofi Adu Domfeh