Absa Young Africa Works Project impacts 5,700 SMEs

A total of 5,700 SMEs across the country have been impacted by Absa Bank’s Young Africa Works Project.

The programme, in collab­oration with the Mastercard Foundation, has seen over GH¢1.1 billion invested in these SMEs, including smallholder farmers.

During a recent tour of funded project sites within the Accra enclave, beneficiaries discussed the impact the project has had on their businesses.

They called on the govern­ment to increase its investment in the agricultural sector, which holds the promise of providing employment opportunities for a substantial number of unem­ployed youth in the nation.

According to the Head of SME, Agency Banking and Part­nership, Ms Audrey Abakah, the Absa Young Africa Works Project (AYAW) had been instrumental in job creation and providing entrepreneurial support, particu­larly in underserved sectors and communities.

“We decided to embark on this initiative in 2020 to support IIPLC in the 2023 financial year, Mr Soalihu said the company recorded a strong increase in reve­nue by 54.3 per cent to GH¢31.42 million in 2023, following a 10 per cent revenue decrease in 2022 financial year.

Moreover, he said the increase in revenue was attributed to de­liberate pursuit of new strategies and policies aimed at maximising revenues and efficiency, driven by  businesses, particularly SMEs, to build back and upscale their op­erations from the financial impact they faced during the COVID-19 pandemic,” she stated.

Ms Abakah expressed satis­faction with how the businesses have utilised their funding to upscale their operations and cre­ate job opportunities for young people.

The Managing Director of Eden Tree Limited, producers and distributors of fresh fruits, vegetables, and herbs, Catherine Krobo Edusei, said the support from the bank came at an oppor­tune time for her company, which was facing financial constraints.

“Now, with the support we receive from Absa, we are able to pay off our suppliers on time and also ensure that there are no delays with staff salaries. Our staff strength has also increased because of our capacity to take in more produce for packaging,” she explained.

Eden Tree Limited accessed a total of GH¢1.1 million, enabling the company to produce two tonnes of vegetables per day.

At G Billy Farms in Nsawam, the company has been able to expand its staff strength from 17 to 70 permanent employees, and about 100 casual workers and is looking to expand their 80-acre farmland to 100 acres by the end of this year.

According to Eric Danquah, the General Manager of G Billy Farms Limited, who are the larg­est supplier of fresh pineapple to Blue Skies Company Ltd, the support from the Absa AYAW partnership has enabled them to upscale their production base and pay better salaries to their employees.

“Because we are doing so well as a business, other smallholder farmers come to learn from us, and we also have some university graduates coming to work with us. So, we are growing, and we thank Absa and the Mastercard Foundation for the support,” he stated.

He encouraged Absa Bank to broaden the 10 percent loan fa­cility to additional entrepreneurs, enabling them to expand their operations and create more job opportunities.

For Praise Exports Services Limited, an agro-processing export company in Pokuase, they have been able to increase their exports from 200 metric tonnes to 300 metric tonnes after re­ceiving support from Absa Bank, as well as increasing their staff capacity.

According to the Chief Ex­ecutive Officer, Godwin Edem Adordie, through the financial support received from Absa Bank, the company had been able to invest in new machinery and quality control systems that ensure their products meet inter­national standards for export.

Since its inception in 2020, the programme has created jobs for 2,400 young people in the agricultural sector.

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