The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) has extended the application deadline for the GH¢145million Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) grant to August 11, 2021.
This follows the initial deadline’s ending on Wednesday July 21, 2021 after the online portal was opened in June this year for eligible businesses to apply for part of the World Bank grant.
The extension, communicated in a notice published online on Wednesday, was to allow SMEs which had not been able to either complete their application – or attempt at all – to do so and benefit from the new stimulus package.
The COVID-19 Response Grant Programme is under the World Bank-funded Ghana Economic Transformation Project (GETP) and the Ghana Tourism Development Project (GTDP).
The GETP – whose application opened on June 21, 2021 – seeks to promote private investments and firm growth in non-resource-based sectors; while GTDP, whose portal went live on June 29, 2021, is expected to improve the performance of tourism at targetted destinations in Ghana.
According to the Chief Executive Officer of GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the grant is solely for SMEs which had been impacted negatively by the pandemic – unlike the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme Business Support Scheme, which covers Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
She said SMEs eligible are in non-resource-based sectors such as agro-processing, manufacturing, textiles and garments, food and beverages, tourism and hospitality, pharmaceuticals and companies into the production of personal protective equipment (PPE).
About 18 categories of businesses – including those which affect the country’s forest cover such as artisanal and small-scale mining – are barred from applying for the grant.
