Ghana needs a vibrant capital market - Minister

Mona Helen K. Quartey, Deputy Minister of Finance, has called for the development of a vibrant capital market in the country to help close the infrastructure gap, create wealth and unleash the creative potential of the people.

She said a vibrant capital market would inject efficiency into the operations of public utilities and enterprises and turn ideas into marketable products of global dimensions.

Ms Quartey, who made this known during an event to list Izwe Loan Limited on the Ghana Stock Exchange (GSE) said, “The capital market, as part of the financial system is therefore, critical for our economic development process.”

She stressed the need to harness all resources towards the achievement of more robust, deeper and broader financial system, stating that developing the capital market was an important step in the right direction.

“A developed capital market will enable us attract the funds needed for critical investments for both government and the private sector.”

She said the Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) sector continues to play a vital role as a tool for economic empowerment of the poor, stating that “SMEs account for more than 90 percent of business enterprises and continues to contribute largely to the creation of new jobs.”

“It has been estimated that SMEs provide about 85 percent of manufacturing employment, account for more than 90 percent of existing businesses and are the primary driver for Gross Domestic Product growth,” Ms Quartey added.

She said broadly SMEs contribute to economic diversification, employment creation, provision of basic goods and services and generation of export and tax revenues for the nation’s development process.