Who We Are

The goal of REP is to improve the livelihoods and increase the incomes of rural poor micro and small entrepreneurs. Its development objective is to increase the number of rural MSEs that generate profit, growth and employment opportunities. The main vehicle for the delivery of Programme services is the district-based model for MSE promotion developed by REP since 1995. The model is based on three building blocks:

i. Access to business development services (BDS) through a district-based Business Advisory Centre (BAC) with the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) spearheading as the national Implementing Entity;

ii. Technology transfer through technical skills training and demonstrations, mainly delivered by the district-based Rural Technology Facilities (RTF) led by the GRATIS or other suitable institution as the Implementing Entity; and

iii. Access of MSEs to rural finance through linkages with “participating” Financial Institutions (FI), including Rural and Community Banks (RCB) led by the ARB Apex Bank as the Implementing Entity.

Linkage between REP and Ghana’s Development Agenda
The Programme supports Ghana’s Shared Growth and Development Agenda (GSGDA) which focuses on poverty reduction; skills improvement; promotion of the use of appropriate technologies; improvement of access to capital resources for the rural entrepreneurs; and capacity building in agricultural commodity processing. It also supports Ghana’s Industrial Policy, which addresses the need to grow micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to foster diversification of the economy and employment creation. It is considered pivotal in the implementation of the decentralisation process of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI) and is linked to its Private Sector Development Strategy to increase opportunity for the poor. REP will strengthen the linkages between the agriculture, industry and services sectors of the economy.

Programme Cost
The total Programme cost is estimated at US $193 million. The financiers are the Government of Ghana (GoG), International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The breakdown in US dollars is as follows:
i. IFAD – $31.78 million
ii. AfDB – $76.52 million
iii. Govt of Ghana – $24.41 million
iv. Participating Dist. Assemblies – $39.76 million
v. PFIs – $8.74 million
vi. Clients – $11.68 million

Programme Period and Coverage
REP is being implemented in over 8 years in161 rural districts across the 10 regions of the country. (See list of districts, location and contacts).

Programme Implementation Arrangement
The Ministry of Trade and Industry has the overall responsibility for the implementation of REP. It also chairs the Programme Steering Committee (PSC). At the regional level, the Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs) monitor and coordinate the implementation of MSE development in the districts of their respective regions. The District Assemblies continue to be the seat of programme implementation and play a central role in co-ordinating the services, resources and programmes of various district-level stakeholders in the implementation of REP.
The National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI) is responsible for providing support in the delivery of business development services, facilitated by Business Advisory Centres (BACs). GRATIS provides support to the Rural Technology Facilities (RTFs) in delivering agricultural commodity processing infrastructure development services. The Bank of Ghana (BoG) and ARB Apex Bank support delivery of access of MSEs to rural financial services, including monitoring the performance of financial institutions.

Programme Component
Programme services towards the development of rural businesses are delivered through for integrated technical components. These are:

i. Business Development Services (BDS) Component; This component is responsible for upgrading the technical and entrepreneurial skills of rural MSEs by providing access to business development services (BDS) at the district level. The BACs, which function under the participating District Assemblies (DAs) and the technical direction of NBSSI, are the main delivery mechanism for BDS interventions.

ii. Agricultural Commodity Processing Infrastructure Development (ACPID) [Technology Promotion and Dissemination (TPD)] Component; The ACPID/TPD component is responsible for upgrading the level of technology of the rural MSE sector by facilitating promotion and dissemination of appropriate technologies in the form of skills training, manufacture of processing equipment, testing and promotion of prototypes. The RTFs constitute the main delivery mechanism for the ACPID/TPD interventions.

iii. Access to Rural Finance (ARF) Sub-Component; This sub-component aims to enhance the access of rural MSEs to financial services. REP is partnering with the ARB Apex Bank Ltd. and Bank of Ghana to select and accredit participating financial institutions (PFIs) to support rural MSEs with appropriate financial services including credit and matching grant funds.

iv. Institutional Development (ID) Sub-Component. The ID sub-component is supporting the strengthening of selected MSE support institutions countrywide so as to facilitate the mainstreaming of MSE promotion at national, regional and district levels to contribute to the creation of a favourable environment for growth of rural MSEs.

Programme Target Groups and Targeting Approach:
REP is primarily targeting the entrepreneurial poor, who are mostly members of poor rural families that will be able to convert the capacity-building support from the Programme into productive assets without or with barest additional investment support.
The clients of REP include:

i. rural poor people, particularly women, interested in self-employment or wage jobs but who lack the skills and/or start-up capital. These include people whose livelihoods depend mainly on rain-fed subsistent agriculture and who are probably idle in the off-farm season;

ii. rural poor people with some basic skills but who may require upgrading, entrepreneurship training and financing to improve and expand their businesses. These include people engaged in some form of income generating activities and micro enterprise operations (especially agri-based) through their own effort or with some previous support, albeit inadequate;

iii. identified vulnerable individuals or groups such as the physically challenged or the socially excluded members of rural communities who are likely to improve their living conditions through specific interventions;

iv. young people who have completed their education as well as the unemployed youth not in school living in the rural areas and willing to acquire entrepreneurial skills particularly in agri-business.

2. Particular attention is being paid to activities aimed at promoting agri-business with emphasis on farm-based, pre- and post-harvest, agro-processing, agro-industrial and primary fabrication and repair enterprises.

3. REP is also targeting institutional partners and umbrella organisation of local business associations with appropriate interventions aimed at strengthening their capacities to mainstream REP activities in the long-term.

Expected Programme Benefits and Beneficiaries
REP targets at least 400,000 clients of which at least 50% will be women. This will:
i. Generate at least 100,000 additional jobs. ii. Establish 36,000 new businesses iii. Provide direct skills training to about 30,320 apprentices and 30,320 master craft persons. iv. Disburse Rural Enterprises Development Fund (REDF) credit funds to 27,000 MSEs. v. Provide approximately 5,000 MSEs with the Matching Grant Fund, especially women groups and youth start-up enterprises.