The General Manager, Business Banking at Consolidated Bank Ghana, (CBG) Michael Kwansa has said the lack of access to finance by Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) is a result of their inability to produce accurate records of their businesses.
According to him, MSMEs will continue to face this challenge in accessing finance from financial institutions if they do not have proper book keeping records.
“What most of them do is that they don’t keep proper records, they sell and immediately they spend the money or use it to pay their suppliers, so there’s no record or history of their background to give them anything,” he said.
In an interview on the sidelines of press seminar organized by the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Consolidated Bank Ghana Mr. Kwansa said MSMEs must prioritize booking keeping in order not to be denied access to financing.
“If you don’t have any records with any bank, no bank will give you money out of the blue, every bank will want you to show the history of your banking records within at least the past two or six months and that is what has hindered most MSMEs from getting loans from banks,” he added.
Access to finance remains a key constraint to MSME growth and development in many emerging economies including Ghana.
This comes despite the fact that the MSME sector is estimated to employ more than 80% of the workforce and generates over 70% of GDP.
Mr. Kwansa further noted that the CBG is helping MSMEs keep proper records so they can stand a better chance of getting access to finance from the banks.
“So what we do as a bank is help these businesses keep track and get the records they will need to qualify from a loan from us,” he added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri