170,000 businesses apply for GH¢600m stimulus package

The Government of Ghana CAP Business Support Scheme (CAP BuSS) has received over 170,000 successful registrations on the online portal, with about 65 per cent of this number successfully completing applications.

In a statement issued by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Executive Director of NBSSI, Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh said due diligence on the successful applications was on-going and disbursement would begin shortly.

“In coordination with relevant Participating Financial Institutions, the necessary due diligence is underway to ensure our hardworking Ghanaian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), who are the backbone of the economy, receive requisite assistance in these hard times,” she noted.

Data released from the CAP BuSS online portal on June 5, 2020, showed that Ashanti Region had recorded the highest number of applications at 28.6% of total applications.

This was followed by Central with 13%, Greater Accra – 12%, Eastern– 11.5%, followed by other regions.

Female applicants constitute 61% and the males, 39%.

Reasons for the differences in applications have been partly attributed to population distribution and the concentration of major economic centres in Ghana where MSMEs operate.

To further ensure all eligible but disenfranchised MSMEs easily access the CAP BuSS, selected staff of NBSSI and members of the CAP BUSS Steering Committee are conducting nationwide outreach and monitoring visits to selected trade and business associations and market centres across the country.

“Recognising that majority of MSMEs in Ghana (80%) fall within the informal sector and will require some support to fill out the online application form, our NBSSI Regional Offices and 180 Business Advisory Centres across Ghana have in the last two weeks been working diligently, and, in collaboration with the respective metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs), have set up help desks to support applicants with data entry,” explained Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh.

“The nationwide outreach and monitoring visits are for purposes of scalability and to ensure all other disadvantaged groups easily access the programme and have relevant information to work with, as well as give NBSSI insight into realities and challenges of our intervention,” she added.

The Coronavirus Alleviation Business Support Scheme, which was launched on May 19, 2020, by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, forms part of the Government of Ghana’s Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP) intended to provide support to MSMEs negatively impacted by the Coronavirus pandemic.

Management of the CAP BuSS Programme is being facilitated by NBSSI, a government-subvented agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) mandated by an Act of Parliament to grow, strengthen and support MSMEs in Ghana.

Meanwhile, the NBSSI has cautioned applicants to be wary of any suspicious communication (email, phone calls, text messages) notifying them of successful applications and further requesting their biodata and other information to effect disbursement.

The statement asked applicants to contact the CAP Buss Help Centres to report or verify any suspicious communication.