Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for the Ghana Enterprises Agency, Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey-Ayeh, has recounted success stories from the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme spearheaded by her outfit.
Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey revealed that government through the Ghana Enterprises Agency supported over 300,000 Ghanaians during the outbreak of Covid-19.
In 2020, the President of the Republic of Ghana Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo announced that GH¢600 million soft loan scheme with a two-year repayment plan had been put in place by the government to support micro, small and medium scale businesses under the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme.
Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Ghana and a partial lockdown on Accra and Kumasi as a result of the disease, most businesses in major economic hubs were rendered inactive, limiting the income of most citizens.
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Recounting the successes of the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme, Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey added that aside the 300,000 people the Ghana Enterprises Agency also supported 200,000 people through the support of the Master Card Foundation.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with the host of Atinka FM’s AM Drive, Kaakyire Ofori Ayim, Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey added that an assessment by the Ghana Statistical Service, the UNDP, and the World Bank revealed that the revenues of SMEs who received funding in the third wave of COVID-19 increased by 22%.
“The success stories from the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme are enormous. My office has a Monitoring and Evaluation Department, and so we are always making assessments. Almost 50% of businesses that had been shut down were revived due to the support. The impact of the world on the ground is high. One of the beneficiaries personally called and informed us that his revenue shot up to GHS98,000 on a weekly basis,” Kosi Yankey-Ayeh added.
Criteria for selecting beneficiaries
Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey refuted claims that her agency supported only members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).
She added that over 900,000 people applied for the grants and loans and that there was no way she could have fished out only members of the NPP.
Kosi Antwiwaa Yankey noted that some people used wrong details in applying, which contributed to their disqualification.
Repayment of loans
She revealed that repayment for the loans has started and that people have started making payments as expected.
According to Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, over GHS20M cedis have been received from persons who took the loans.
Ghana | Atinkaonline.com | Vivian Adu
