A total of 160 entrepreneurs from the Northern, Upper East, and Savannah Regions have received financial support worth GHC 2 million under the MTN Ghana Foundation’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) Support Programme.
The beneficiaries were awarded at a ceremony in Tamale, organized by Innohub in partnership with the MTN Ghana Foundation and Fidelity Bank Ghana.
It marked the third edition of the initiative, which aims to strengthen small businesses and build resilient local economies in Northern Ghana.
The award categories extended to diverse sectors including shea butter and peanut butter processing, poultry farming, fish mongering, fashion design, and the creative arts, where awardees were shortlisted from 354 enterprises who participated in pitch competitions and business management sessions held in Tamale and Bolgatanga.
Some sessions were tailored for persons with disabilities (PwDs) to enhance their capacity to manage sustainable businesses and to promote inclusive national development.
Madam Cynthia Mills, Economic Empowerment Advisor at the MTN Ghana Foundation, described the programme as key intervention to foster inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
“These are businesses with immense potential, not only to transform the lives of their owners, but also to create opportunities for others. This year, we are disbursing a total of GHC 2 million to the selected entrepreneurs,” she announced.
She explained that youth-led businesses received GHC 630,000, women-led enterprises GHC 970,000, while differently abled entrepreneurs benefited from GHC 400,000.
She congratulated the awardees for their resilience, creativity, and determination, and assured them of MTN’s continued support to drive vibrant local economies.
Mr Robert Kuzoe, Senior Manager at MTN Ghana, said that the initiative went beyond financial support.
“MTN seeks to empower these people by giving them financial support, but that is not the only thing. That is why we partnered with Innohub, which has the technical expertise to train these entrepreneurs in book-keeping and resource management so they can reinvest in their businesses,” he stated.
He emphasized the inclusive nature of the programme, and indicated that MTN’s was committed to ensuring that women, youth, and persons with disabilities were not left behind.
Mame Serwaa Amoakohene, Chief of Staff at Innohub, said the partnership was driven by the need to support small and growing businesses that were often overlooked.
“You have businesses that are too small to access funding, while bigger ones already get the attention. Innohub realized there was an opportunity to support this middle group to become investor-ready,” she explained.
Mr Mohammed Tahiru, Chief Executive Officer of Suglo Shoe Enterprise and a member of the Northern Regional Chapter of the Federation of Disability Organizations (GFD), who spoke on behalf of the differently abled beneficiaries, said the support would go a long way to strengthen their businesses and help discourage street begging.
Another beneficiary, Ms Nimatu Alhassan, founder and CEO of Angbanlife, who received GHC 20,000, said the package would enable her to introduce new product varieties into her business.
She pledged to leverage the support to create jobs for other young people.
The MTN SME Support Programme has become one of the leading initiatives aimed at boosting entrepreneurship and promoting inclusive growth across the country.