A fully owned Ghanaian Company, Ghana Growth Fund Company (GGFC) Limited has taken over Liberia Enterprise Development Finance Corporation (LEDFC).
GGFC, a Pan-African group of companies partnered the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) of the United States in this bid.
At an official launch of the acquisition, the Managing Director of GGFC, Kwame Ofori Asomaning pledged his company’s commitment to improve the Liberian economy by empowering Liberian businesses.
He said many companies in Liberia do not have the funding to sustain their companies and that in such cases; GGFC will intervene to ensure that these companies remain operational with the agreement of paying back funds received to continue their businesses.
Mr. Asomaning added that SME in Liberia lacks business best practice, something that tends to hamper the improvement and continuation of Liberian businesses. Asomaning said his group of companies will put into place good management teams for Liberian businesses and will deploy some members of the management team with firms to bring about best business practices.
The Keynote Speaker, Dr. Papa Kwesi Nduom, Chairman, Groupe Nduom, GGFC’s parent company said the group wants to see Liberia as part of the process to create a Liberian-Ghanaian-American company for a long term operation that will benefit all parties.
“There is no free money in this business because the money belongs to shareholders and people who stand to benefit from our loan scheme are those who are well positioned to repay any loan that will be given to them’ Dr. Nduom asserted.
He said that while GGFC is willing to assist the private sector, it will only become a friend to people with good intention to pay back money given to them for the growth of their businesses.
In her brief remark, United States Ambassador to Liberia, Deborah Malac said OPIC is proud to have been an early supporter of the LEDFC by providing loan, capital since its formation, and will continue to support the enterprise.
She noted that LEDFC began operations at a difficult time for the Liberian economy after the end of its civil conflicts and there was no source of debt capital for the small and medium-sized enterprises in the market. She also reaffirmed OPIC’s support to small and medium sized enterprise sector of the Liberian economy to enhance acquisition
The Liberia Enterprise Development Financial Company’s original benefactor, Robert Johnson’s RLJ Companies and International (now known as “Global Communities) also helped LEDFC to support more than 90 small medium enterprises with more than $7million in loans since it began.
Story by Ghana / Joy Business / Ghana