The Business Development Services Fund

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The Business Development Services Fund
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STRUCTURE OF THE PRESENTATION

• 1.0 Introduction
• 2.0 Background of the project
• 3.0 The BDS Fund objectives scope
• 4.0 The role of the Fund Manager
• 5.0 The Project Team

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

• The Government of Ghana, under the auspices of
  the International Development Agency (IDA) and
  the International Finance Corporation has
  inaugurated the Micro, Small and Medium
  Enterprises (MSME) Project.
• The MSME project, under which the BDS Matching
  Fund Grant scheme is being implemented,
  originated from two key policy initiatives of the
  Government

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

• Private Sector Development Strategy
• Trade Policy
• This policy is set within the context of Ghanas
  long term strategic vision of achieving middle
  income status by 2012 and becoming a leading
  agro-industrial country in Africa.

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2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

• In order to achieve the objectives of the MSME
  project, a key pillar of intervention has been
  designed for supporting business development
  services of MSMEs in Ghana through a matching
  fund scheme, acting as an incentive system for
  the MSME private sector players in selected key
  growth sectors.

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2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

• The second component of intervention is the
  eGhana project that has been developed by the
  Government of Ghana to further support employment
  levels and competitiveness of Ghana in the global
  Information Technology (IT) services industry.
  The e-Ghana project is aimed at supporting GoG in
  designing and implementing a comprehensive
  strategy to harness the potential of ICT/IT
  enabled services for creating jobs and increasing
  the national output.

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Challenges facing key sectors

• Tourism lack of unique tourism products
• Horticulture need to meet international quality
  and safety standards. Low credit flow to agric
  sector (4.9 in 2007)
• Textiles low capacity/quality of products,
  stiff competition from Asia
• Furniture finishing quality, insufficient
  promotional efforts
• Agri-business maintenance of quality standards,
  packaging

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2.0 BACKGROUND OF THE PROJECT

• This presentation discusses the Business
  Development Services Fund, a sub-component of the
  MSME Project, which focuses on enhancing
  competitiveness and employment levels among
  micro, small and medium Ghanaian firms.
• It also specifically supports the information
  technology (IT) services industry, which is the
  focus of a parallel project, the eGhana Project.

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THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE

• The MSME PROJECT
• The MSME project as part of its broad objectives
  seeks to develop the market for non financial
  services to enterprises to help MSMEs outsource
  the vital functions they cannot access on their
  own.
• The MSME Project also seeks to enhance the
  capacity of banks to offer credit to SMEs in a
  more efficient manner

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THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE - Access to
Finance

• increase the creditworthiness of prospective
  clients of the partner banks, thus increasing the
  number of new SME loans
• help SMEs that have received loans from the
  partner banks to remain bankable, thus reducing
  the number of non-performing loans
• help business service providers to help expand
  services tailored for target SMEs
• support financial institutions that wish to
  develop and expand term lending to SMEs or to
  develop additional financial instruments suitable
  for SMEs.

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THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE - Access to
Markets

• stimulate demand by eligible MSMEs for
  non-financial services that can improve their
  productivity and competitiveness
• enable BDS providers to develop and market
  specialized BDS that are appropriate and
  affordable to MSMEs
• improve market information and public-private
  dialogue through support to business associations
  and policy advocacy groups.
• facilitate linkages between MSMEs and larger
  firms and markets through support to clusters of
  firms or lead firms working with such clusters of
  MSME suppliers.

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THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE - eGhana

• Matching grants for public and private training
  providers to create a skill-based workforce of
  trainers and professionals for the Business
  Process Offshoring sector
• Performance-based subsidies matching grants for
  providers of incubation services to support the
  creation of businesses with activities in the
  ITES cluster
• Quality Assurance matching grant for the
  development of a software testing facility in
  Ghana providing certification to ICT SMEs on
  relevant international standards

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THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE - eGhana

• Expected outcome of the eGhana Project include
• Increased employment and income generation in the
  ICT/ITES sector
• Increased competitiveness of the ICT/ITES
  industry in Ghana and opportunities for local
  businesses
• Increased human capacity in the ICT/ITES sector
• More effective, transparent and accountable
  government
• Increased engagement of the private sector with
  the Government

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3.0 THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE

• In addition, this intervention will have a
  number of spill over effects

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3.0 THE BDS FUND OBJECTIVES SCOPE

• It will create a pipeline of new viable
  businesses for other financial institutions
• It will increase the overall capacity of SMEs,
  thereby generating jobs and growth
• It will create a sustainable delivery mechanism
  of quality non-financial services to which firms
  beyond the initial target group will have access
  and

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4.0 THE ROLE OF THE FUND MANAGER

• Manage the day to day operation of the BDS Fund,
  in line with the Grants Procedures Manual. The
  Fund Manager will have primary responsibility for
  appraisal, procurement and supervision of all BDS
  Grants under the Fund

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4.0 THE ROLE OF THE FUND MANAGER

• The Fund Manager will ensure that BDS Fund and
  other relevant funds are continually marketed
  and stakeholders kept up to-date of activities
  and to ensure stakeholder buy-in as much as
  possible including assisting the Government in
  the solicitation of additional donor funding to
  expand the operations of the Fund in the future.

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5.0 THE PROJECT TEAM

• The BDS Fund is being implemented for the
  Government of Ghana by a consortium led by
  Landell Mills Limited of the United Kingdom
  (incorporating Aftech Consultancy Ltd and TDI
  Group of Ireland) and Empretec Ghana Foundation.

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5.0 THE PROJECT TEAM

• The Consortium see the key objective of this
  assignment as assisting MSMEs achieve
  international competitiveness, which is the
  essential precondition for secure business
  development resulting in increased employment,
  higher levels of investment, more bankable
  companies, greater export capability and growing
  market share in the domestic market.

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5.0 THE PROJECT TEAM

• The purpose of this Workshop is to provide you
  with information on the grant scheme, the
  fundamental methodology by which we propose to
  achieve the grants objectives and outputs, take
  you through the application process and receive
  your feed back and comments as inputs into our
  process of finalizing the Grant Procedures
  Manual, which is the key guiding document.