Invest in Africa (IIA), a not-for-profit organisation focused on growing local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across sub-Saharan Africa, has been selected by Tullow Ghana Limited to implement its recently launched Financial Readiness programme.

The Financial Readiness programme is an eight-month programme, launched in August 2021, with the goal of assisting suppliers in the oil and gas industry to build financially resilient and sustainable businesses for the future.

A statement issued in Accra by Madam Tina Boadi, Marketing Manager, IIA Ghana said IIA would provide selected suppliers with financial tool kits that would enhance their interactions with lending institutions and offer 150 SMEs access to various funding options, as well as insights into financial restructuring opportunities.

It said alongside hosting workshops, IIA would offer more tailored, one-to-one business advisory support to Tullow Ghana’s larger suppliers.

These will be delivered on the back of a successful track record of similar interventions led by IIA.
Madam Carol Annang, IIA Ghana’s Country Director speaking on the potential impact of the programme said ‘In any ways, the pandemic has reshaped how we conduct business.’

She said the pandemic consequences on financing for Ghanaian SMEs may be felt many years down the line, so even though this programme has a short-term outlook, its overall contribution to these SMEs would be much longer lasting.

“This is something both IIA and Tullow Ghana can appreciate, given our shared commitment to strengthening local supply chains,” she said.

Mr Wissam Al Monthiry, Managing Director of Tullow Ghana said ‘As a company, the development of local capacity for participation in the oil and gas industry remains our priority.’

He said Central to developing local participation, was the ability of the local supply chain to remain financially resilient to continue participating in delivering oil and gas services to our operations.
“This Financial Readiness programme will add to our goal of ensuring a financially stable supplier base that is globally competitive,” he added.