GEPA: Banks reaffirm commitment to bridging export financing gap

Some banks have reaffirmed their commitment to supporting companies with affordable credit facilities for the financing of their exports.

The Ghana Export Promotion Authority, (GEPA), which is spearheading this initiative believes this would go a long way to increase its targeted export values and help the country’s economy to grow.

Diana Bosompim is CEO of 360 Naturals, a manufacturer of natural hair and skin products in the Ashanti Regional capital, Kumasi. As a potential exporter, she has been confronted with challenges, including access to a credit facility to expand her business to sell her products internationally.

“What they [the banks] are not something beyond our scope. As it has been our nature we fear and sometimes feel reluctant to access credit and some of the things they offer are very technical,” she said.

Over the past five years, Ghana’s non-traditional exports have seen tremendous growth, with 2021 realizing a 17% increase in export value. However, the production capacity of local businesses for exports has been low.

A deputy CEO at the GEPA, Sam Dentu explains how the Authority has agreed with some selected banks to bridge the export financing gap.

“We feel more can be done when the market is there. There is a huge interest in local businesses but we realized these businesses lack the production capacity. One of the means to improve production capacity is to engage the exporters and commercial banks who have the wherewithal to help these exporters improve their production capacity.

“This is to also help the banks understand the businesses of these exporters and find ways of addressing the deficiencies so that they can help them increase their supply capacity,” he said.

As GEPA targets US$25 billion of non-traditional exports in the next 10 years, Dentu is calling on commercial banks to support local businesses for capacity building.

“The commercial banks need to help us to grow our exports. We need to work collectively to improve our export capacity,” he said.

The forum saw officials of Fidelity Bank, Stanbic Bank, and Exim Bank Ghana share various products and services accessible to both exporters and potential exporters.

A participant Janet said, “The organizers should expand this to the youth. This would really help a lot and create more jobs for people”.

Jonathan Ofori