Minister of Finance, Mr.Ken Ofori Atta has said the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) Initiative continued to make remarkable progress in 2022 and to date, a total of 296 1D1F projects are at various stages of implementation, out of which 126 are currently operational, 143 are under construction, and 27 are pipeline projects.
According to him, the Ministry of Trade and Industry is working with over 200 Ghanaian companies to facilitate their entry into the African market including about 70 1D1F companies, additionally, the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) Guided Trade Initiative (GTI) has been launched to start commercially meaningful trade and products identified for the Initiative include batteries, tea, coffee, ceramic tiles, processed meat products, corn starch, sugar, and pasta, amongst others, in line with the AfCFTA focus on value chain development.
Presenting 2023 budget statement in the floor of parliament, Mr.Ken Ofori Atta said in 2023, the Government will intensify support to existing and new manufacturing enterprises with technical assistance, credit facilitation, and access to electricity and other infrastructure.
The Minister said in fulfillment of government pledge of building an entrepreneurial state, the implementation of the YouStart programme began this year.
He said the programme was successfully piloted with 70 beneficiaries and an amount of GH¢1.98 million was disbursed to support youth-led (below the age of 40 years) SMEs in poultry, agro processing, ICT, textiles, and food processing sectors and launched the District Level programme
Government has successfully signed an MoU with the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB) and eleven (11) other commercial Banks for the implementation of the commercial component of the programme.
A launch for the District Entrepreneurship Programme (DEP) component of the programme was held on 14th November, 2022 and it is expected that the launch of the Commercial component of the Programme will occur by the end of 2022 to enable qualified beneficiaries access support.
In addition to the Automotive Assembly Programme, Government has developed a new Components Manufacturing Policy which seeks to support the local production and supply of components and spare parts for the automotive industry. The Ministry of Trade and Industry will launch and commence implementation of the policy in 2023 which is expected to expand job creation.
Source: Mybrytfmonline /Kofi Atakora