Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sampson Ahmed of Mighty Microfinance Company, a microfinance institution with 9 branches in Ghana, recently called on microfinance stakeholders in the country to focus on expanding operations to rural areas. He made this call at the opening of the company’s ninth branch at Atwima Foase, a predominantly farming community in the Atwima Kwanwoma district of the Ashanti region. He reportedly noted that, “Most firms are based in the cities, not realizing that there are some rural areas that we have to serve…I want to tell my colleagues to focus on the rural areas to help people with loans and advise; they should come to the needs of the farmers and support the rural areas to develop.” Further, Mr. Ahmed advised microfinance institutions to join the Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies (GAMC), an umbrella professional association that promotes best practices among its 500 members.
As of September 2011, Mighty Microfinance Company, which is headquartered in Kumasi, had been granted a provisional tier-2 microfinance license. This type of license allows institutions to be organized as for-profit entities and accept deposits.
The 78 Ghanaian MFIs reporting data to the US-based Microfinance Information Exchange report an aggregate gross loan portfolio of USD 224 million and deposits collected totaling USD 237 million as of 2011.
By Chioma Okwudiafor, Research Associate
About Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies (GAMC)
The Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies (GAMC) is an association of 500 companies providing microfinance services such as lending and deposit products. It is limited by guarantee and was registered in Ghana on the 20th of May 2011.
Sources and Additional Resources:
Joy Online News Story: Microfinance firms urged to turn attention to rural economies
http://edition.myjoyonline.com/pages/news/201211/97155.php
MicroCapital Story: March 21, 2012, MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: Bank of Ghana (BOG) Pursues Tighter Regulation, Enforcement of Microfinance Sector https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bank-of-ghana-bog-pursues-tighter-regulation-enforcement-of-microfinance-sector/
MicroCapital Story: March 12, 2012, MicroCapital Brief: Bank of Ghana (BOG) Receives 300 Microfinance License Applications” https://www.microcapital.org/microcapital-brief-bank-of-ghana-bog-receives-300-microfinance-license-applications/
MicroCapital Universe Profile: Ghana Association of Microfinance Companies https://www.microcapital.org/microfinanceuniverse/tikiindex.phppage=Ghana+Association+of+Microfinance+Companies+%28GAMC%29
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