Stanbic Bank Ghana has written off the debt of 14 victims of the recent Kantamanto fire outbreak who benefited from the bank’s SME Quick Loans product launched last year. In addition, the Bank gave a total of GH¢14,000 in cheques as corporate social responsibility to the 14 victims to restart their businesses -- and even allowed these customers to access fresh credit from the bank without any strings attached. Managing Director Alhassan Andani explained that under the SMEs Quick Loan facility, only 0.75 percent of the loan is dedicated to insurance -- and in the event of a disaster the loan gets written off. “We at Stanbic want to assure Ghanaians that we are truly here for the long-haul; that is why we have products like the SMEs Quick Loans, which is a collateral-free loan and very easily disbursed. “The product has only 0.75 percent as insurance cover and in times of adversity -- which nobody wishes for, you get your loan written-off. But as part of our corporate social responsibility, we have given each of these victims GH¢1,000 to get back onto their feet and also the opportunity to request for fresh loans irrespective of what we have done for them,” he said. He reiterated the bank’s unflinching support to businesses in the country, and stressed the need for Ghanaians to always take insurance policies because “you just don’t know what can happen”. “If every Kantamanto trader was insured, this country would have been much, much safer; it is difficult to say that people learn out of such adversity, but if people have to learn from this adversity so be it. “We, in granting this facility, actually sat down and as part of the product offering said ‘we are giving you this product while you don’t have to put in collateral’. We shortened the delivery time and reached them at the marketplace and gave them the loans. “Once you take the loan, the insurance cover is embedded in it and in times of disaster the loan gets written-off. You should do that for your car, house, personal effects like chairs, sound systems that you love very much. Put insurance on it, because you never know what can happen,” he stressed. Minister of Trade and Industry Haruna Iddrisu said the loan- or debt-forgiveness by Stanbic Bank will encourage more the traders to take advantage of insurance. He added that it will take time to educate these traders and Ghanaians in general on the benefits of insurance, but “I am sure as we keep raising their consciousness about insurance, they will start accessing products like the Stanbic Quick SME Loans.” General Secretary of the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Abdullah Shaban, said: “I am overwhelmed by this gesture from Stanbic Bank, because when the fire destroyed Kantamanto I was very worried since I know my colleague traders work on loans from banks. I therefore commend this effort by Stanbic Bank, and I also want to call on all my colleagues to take insurance policies.” About 5,000 traders have since last year benefited from the Stanbic Quick SME loans. The product is targeted at meeting the financial and business needs of SMEs. The SMEs Quick Loan uses a psychometric profile of a client, which is then used to assess his/her willingness to repay the loan, and is aimed at enabling entrepreneurs to speedily access much-needed finance. Customers can access amounts ranging from GH¢1,000 to GH¢25,000. It has a completely new approach that incorporates speedy processing, easy and simple steps and flexible conditions for accessing credit. Built into the package is an insurance cover to guard against uncovered losses in the case of fire. The loan is hassle-free, unsecured and quick. Customers only need to fill in an application form and answer a questionnaire; if they qualify, there is no need to put up collateral to back the loan. By Bernard Yaw ASHIADEY  

  The African Development Bank is working towards helping African countries better benefit from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) opportunities. “The African Development Bank has launched a series of bilateral discussions on ways to boost U.-Africa trade and investment, especially under AGOA,” said Moono Mupotola, AfDB Manager for Regional Integration and Trade. “AGOA, together with the Trade and Investment Framework Agreements, are considered critical tools of U.S.-Africa trade relations.” As a result, the AfDB has identified several areas of possible support to be discussed with US government agencies and African countries at the AGOA XII Forum that will be held in Addis Ababa  this summer. Some of the identified areas include support and capacity building for export and investment promotion agencies in Africa. AfDB-US cooperation could also materialize in the development of general trade infrastructure, especially in the area of trade facilitation. The AfDB is also considering increasing its support for the development of agricultural and non-agricultural value chains in Africa. “There is growing political will within the Bank to help boost US-Africa trade relations, in accordance with the general spirit to boost African trade as agreed by African Heads of Government during the 18th and 19th sessions of the Summit of Heads of States and Governments,” said Mupotola. Since its inception in 2000, AGOA has acted as a catalyst to US trade with sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), particularly in the oil, footwear, vehicles and parts, clothing and textiles sectors. In the apparel sector alone, AGOA is estimated to have created as much as 350,000 jobs in SSA since 2001 and some 100,000 jobs in the US economy. US-African trade grew by more than 500 percent between 2001 and 2011, with exports from sub-Saharan Africa to the US reaching US$79billion. In 2012, petroleum products accounted for the largest portion of AGOA imports and this explains why Nigeria, Angola, Chad and Gabon are four of the five largest AGOA beneficiaries. However, while AGOA non-oil imports remain small, non-oil exports totaled US$4.8billion in 2012, more than triple the amount in 2001 -- and South Africa (AGOA’s largest non-oil beneficiary) is among a number of AGOA beneficiary countries exporting a range of non-oil products. US goods exports in 2012 were US$22.6billion, with top export categories of machinery, vehicles, aircraft, oil, and cereals and top export markets in szub-Saharan Africa being South Africa, Nigeria, Angola, Ghana and Ethiopia. The US Government has made serious efforts to deepen its economic engagement with Africa through a range of tools including AGOA, Trade and Investment Framework Agreements (TIFAs), Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITS) and a new initiative with the East African Community (EAC) that will negotiate a regional investment treaty, trade-enhancing agreements (such as trade facilitation), provide technical assistance, and establish a US-EAC Commercial Dialogue, said Florizelle B. Liser, Assistant US Trade Representative for Africa in the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR). She noted that the June 2012 Obama Administration Policy Directive toward sub-Saharan Africa includes economic growth, trade and investment as a key pillar of US policy toward the region. The new policy promotes greater US Government and private sector engagement to take advantage of the tremendous trade and investment opportunities in Africa, recognising that many other countries (such as Brazil, China, India, the EU and others) are active in advancing their respective trade, investment, and business relationships with the continent. However, the low utilisation of AGOA preferences by beneficiary countries is in stark contrast to the aggressive export strategies that other developing countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia and Vietnam have adopted to access the US market. These are countries that share many of same infrastructure challenges facing sub-Sahara African countries. “Overall, the Bank would want to support SSA countries to more than double and further diversify their non-oil AGOA exports over the next decade -- with a special emphasis on enhancing SSA value chains, and value addition,” said Calvin Manduna, Principal Trade Expert, AfDB. The series of bilateral meetings on AGOA between the AfDB and US Government agencies was launched on the back of the recent IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings held in April 2013 in Washington, DC. The first meeting included officials from the US Departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Agriculture, Transportation; the Millennium Challenge Corporation; US Trade and Development Agency; and the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC). The Bank also held discussions on AGOA with the African Union Mission to the USA, Washington-based diplomats representing AGOA-eligible countries -- hosted by Ambassador Somduth Soborun of Mauritius. AGOA beneficiaries have intensified efforts in Washington to secure renewal of AGOA beyond 2015. The Bank also engaged in consultations with the Brookings Institute and the Inter-American Development Bank, whose member-countries have a long history of trading with the US and can provide valuable lessons for African countries on successfully tapping into that market.  

Cabinet has approved the National Export Strategy to diversify Ghana’s exports by increasing the share of Non-Traditional Exports (NTEs) in the export base. The strategy will also lift the NTEs 35% within the next five years.  The target of this strategy is to take the current level of NTEs from US$1.5billion to US$5billion within the period. This was disclosed to officials of the Ministry of Trade and Industry and heads of agencies in a First Quarter Review workshop at Koforidua by the sector Minister, Haruna Iddrisu. He said the strategy will be implemented by the National Export Development Programme under the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA). Mr. Iddrisu said the Ministry of Trade and Industry is essentially an economic one, and therefore has the mandate to change the economic fortunes of Ghana.  This can only be done if we have a dominant manufacturing sector in order to sustain the middle-income status, he said. "We can achieve this if we have a strong partnership between the public and private sectors by situating Government as an enabler in creating a thriving private sector." Haruna Iddrisu challenged the officials to work closely with him to remove the mistrust that has historically existed between the private and public sectors. "We have to work expeditiously to ease the time for registering and doing business. As a Ministry, we have to collaborate with the Ministry of Finance and Economic Planning and Transport to ease the time for doing business."  The Minister said a new GIPC law will be passed to make GIPC a one-stop-shop for business registration. "As a country, we cannot undertake retaliatory measures against our neighbours once the focus is on an improved export trade regime.  The market in West Africa is so huge, and therefore we have to remove all threats and create an atmosphere to move trade forward," the Minister said. Mr. Iddrisu was full of praise for his predecessor, Hannah Tetteh, for spearheading the revival of the manufacturing sector through the Industrial Sector Support Programme, which will contribute to job opportunities. "Every effort should be made to motivate the informal sector by supporting the manufacturing sector.  We also need to fashion-out programmes to grow small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The Ghana Standard Authority’s mandate is being reviewed to eliminate some of the challenges they face. The National Board for Small Scale Industries is being strengthened to spearhead the SME sector. We also need to improve internal trade to benefit from corporate social responsibility through a defined policy framework." The Minister therefore directed the Export Development, Investment and Agriculture Fund to open offices in all the 10 regions by setting up desks for Enterprises Development. He said the amended EDIAF Act will support exports, manufacturing and agricultural expansion to serve the cause of the private sector. “As a matter of priority, I want Ayensu Starch Factory, GIHOC Distilleries, Juapong Textiles and Pwalugu Tomato Factory to be restructured through a Private- Public Partnership whereby the ownership and governance structure would be reviewed,” he said.  

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