Chief Executive Officer of UMB, Mr. John Awuah
As part of its efforts and commitment to fully support the government’s industrialization agenda of One District One Factory initiative to reduce unemployment in the country, the Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) has signed the first ever One District, One Factory project financed by a private financial institution under the government’s flagship One [ads1]District, One Factory Initiative.
Under the arrangement, the UMB Bank, through the UMB PPP Incubator Centre, is providing a credit facility to the tune of USD 10.7 million to the Central Sugar Company Limited that will be producing starch in commercial quantities from cassava from their base at Prang in the Pru District of the Brong-Ahafo Region.
Speaking at the ceremony, the Chief Executive Officer of UMB, Mr. John Awuah, revealed that the starch processing factory will be sited at Prang and will be constructed by the China National Building and Material Company (CNBM) as well as the procurement of all the required machinery and tools to ensure the facility is fitted with state-of-the-art production installations.
According to him, a local steel company, Isopanel Company Limited has been contracted to fabricate and install all the steel structures for the factory as part of efforts to promote active local content participation.
“This signing ceremony is a demonstration of our bank’s commitment to fully support the government’s industrialization agenda which includes the flagship One District, One Factory programme.” he noted.
This initial One District, One Factory project, he said, the bank believes, will strengthen the local economy in Prang by creating numerous jobs for the locals, mostly. The CEO of UMB also added that the UMB PPP Incubator Centre is a dedicated Centre fully-equipped to offer financial and technical support to private sector entrepreneurs and businesses who have interest in the government’s One District, One Factory and other public-private partnership projects.
Mr. Awuah admonished private sector entrepreneurs to continue to engage the UMB PPP Incubator Centre as the expert team is, in fact, continuously appraising business proposals to ascertain their viability. Mr. Awuah reiterated that this is the first of such announcements by any private bank in Ghana and it shall not be the last from UMB.
“We intend to ensure the success of this starch processing project and at the appropriate time, the bank will be announcing many more projects under the One District, One Factory initiate”, he added.
The signing ceremony was witnessed by a number of honorable guests including Board and Management members from UMB, representatives from the Office of the President, Deputy Minister of Information, Ministry of Trade representative, Mrs. Gifty Ohene-Konadu from the One District, One Factory Secretariat, Central Sugar Company Limited and China National Building and Material Company (CNBM) representatives and a cross section of the media.