20th Anniversary Celebration: Venture Capital Touts Achievement
Startup businesses in Ghana are grappling with considerable liquidity risks due to a lack of follow-on capital which threatens their long-term survival.
The General Manager of VCTF, Mr. Percival Ofori Ampomah, has stated this on Wednesday at a breakfast meeting with stakeholders and press at the Tang palace hotel in Accra.
Mr. Ampomah made mention of the fact that, in the last 20 years, VCTF has become a cornerstone of Ghana’s SMEs sector, helping to build a more robust economy through local and international partnerships.
The general manager hinted that VCTF funding currently comes from foreign sources, with local investors slowly gaining interest due to a greater understanding of venture capital and private equity.
“A key challenge for local investment has been a lack of understanding of the asset class. Regulatory restrictions also limited local investment options, but recent regulatory changes are allowing more local participation,” he explained.
Interactive activities at the stake holders meeting included Private Adaptation Investment, Bootcamp exploring gaps between demand and supply side finance with fund managers, awareness were detailed, and explained by the general manager.
He urged government to partner with global partners like the world bank to recognise Ghana’s potentials and increase their focus on the country stating that, “The global community needs to devote more attention to the tremendous opportunities here.”
He added that the fund previously received $40 million from the World Bank, and another $ 18 million is expected from the Ghana Data Acceleration Project.
Among the speakers at the stake holder meeting was
Mr. Abraham Mensah-Belley, who detailed how VCTF has significantly boosted small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the country, many of which have become familiar names to Ghanaians.
“In the last eight years, we’ve shown that even with limited funds, we can create substantial growth,” he underlined.
source frank owusu obimpeh
