COVID-19: SMEs in tourism sector to benefit from $9m Grant Scheme

The Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture, has launched a $ 9 million dollar Grant Scheme for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the tourism sector.

The Scheme, earmarked for interventions to strengthen the industry severely hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, is under the Ghana Tourism Development Project, a world bank funded project.

According to the Sector Minister, Barbara Oteng-Gyasi, this new intervention has come to complement already existing support schemes introduced by government.

There is the GHS 1 billion stimulus package launched by the President to support Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) affected by the novel Coronavirus pandemic. There is also a GHC 3 billion Cedis facility for larger businesses. All these are available to our industry. So if you are a player in our industry you can apply to access these funds.”

The Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Marfo, said it is critical that every effort is made to sustain the industry after the COVID-19 pandemic.

None of us gathered here has a clear idea for now how the world will return to the state in which it was in before the advent of the coronavirus pandemic. The change has come and has come for us to adapt to. The prevailing issues make it even more imperative that the tourism sector is supported both at this time of the crisis and as we enter the recovery phase of the crisis. It is my hope that practitioners take the opportunities the grant offers to further improve the tourism industry despite the negative effects of COVID-19.”

Support for one thousand businesses

The $ 9 million dollar Grant Scheme is expected to initially cater for a minimum of one thousand Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.

The beneficiaries to be supported under the scheme comprise mainly Ghanaian indigenous businesses in the tourism value chain, including micro businesses that employ between 1 to 5 persons, small businesses that employ between 6 to 30 people, and medium businesses that employ 31 to 100 people.

Interested enterprises are to visit www.motac.gov.gh or www.visitghana.com to begin their application process for the grant.

Source: Citibusiness