Absa Bank deepens support to startups, SMEs with ‘YouStart’ partnership

ABSA Bank has got it right. The bank’s business in Ghana is based on a very simple strategy – a strong focus on supporting local businesses and leadership in digital banking. The bank is sentient enough to know that local businesses, entrepreneurship and start-ups, underpin Ghana’s economic growth so it has laid out a clear strategy to become the bank of choice for these businesses.

This strategy is working well and has contributed to making Absa the most profitable and consistently high-performing bank in Ghana. Last year, the bank also became the first in the history of Ghana’s banking sector to cross the GH₵1 billion mark in profitability and revenues in the country.

Absa’s unique understanding of the needs of the SME market has led to several innovative products and solutions for this specific sector.

No collateral policy

One such innovation is the bank’s collateral-free loan, which has flourished consistently for many years. Through a partnership with the Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA), Absa has increased the facility grant up to GH₵1 million for small businesses and start-ups in Ghana.

Absa also understands that to speedily drive large and positive change, it must strike strategic partnerships as it has done with the Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA).

YouStart support

The bank is, therefore, currently a leading partner of the Ghana government’s new entrepreneurial initiative – YouStart commercial programme – which is supported by the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB).

The YouStart programme will mobilise GH¢10 billion to support young entrepreneurs, start-ups and local businesses in a sustainable way. These businesses can access standardised loans between GH¢100,000 and GH¢500,000 from the participating financial institutions, including Absa Bank, at subsidised interest rates.

For Absa, this is the latest addition to its suite of products and services that support and empower the local business sector to grow sustainably.

Commenting during the signing ceremony of YouStart at the Ministry of Finance, the Managing Director of Absa Bank, Abena Osei-Poku, said: “The purpose of a bank like ours is to identify the real and present problems confronting our clients, customers and society and to creatively devise plans to respond to these difficulties with the right products and services.

That is the ultimate business of banks and we will not renege on our mandate to ensure our clients and customers find us useful and responsive all the time. We are always excited about our role in empowering the local economy. We feel a great sense of accomplishment when we see how SMEs, start-ups and other local businesses are making an impact because of our support.”

Absa Bank is not about to rest on its laurels as it seeks to maintain its leadership in a sector that is central to moving the country into a higher middle-income level.

Programmes like YouStart, the Mastercard foundation partnership and other related initiatives are reasons why the bank has struck a strong chord with its key stakeholders, clients and customers. It reflects the bank’s brand promise of bringing possibilities to life.

The writer is a management staff of Absa Bank Ghana