Rural Financial Services Projects
RFSP
General presentation
In Ghana, it is evident that both formal and informal financial institutions need to be strengthened as they currently operate with outdated technologies and under residual policy contraints, two issues that need to be urgently addressed. Efforts need to be made to increase depositors’ confidence and willingness to transact business with rural banks.
The aim of the Rural Financial Services Project (RFSP) is to meet this need focusing on specific strata of the rural financial sector. Special efforts are made to support informal financial-sector institutions operating in resource-deficit communities and districts. The RFSP supports the Government’s efforts to deepen and broaden rural financial services as part of its strategy of accelerated growth and economic development, particularly in rural areas. The project is conceived as a financial-sector capacity building programme. The focus is on improving access to financial services by the large rural population, especially women; building the capacity of the constituent stakeholders; and instituting the regulatory and policy changes and reforms needed to enhance the efficiency of the rural financial system. The project covers the continuum of institutions comprising the rural financial sector in Ghana and will do so in an integrated and holistic manner in order to maximize synergy, complement ongoing activities, and make best use of existing resources.
To achieve the objectives, the project is to:
- support the development, training and empowerment of informal financial institutions and rural groups to deepen outreach and expand services to a large number of rural clients, including women, many of whom are among the poorest;
- strengthen the overall capacity of rural banks for effective intermediation through technology enhancements, human resource development, and the development and testing of innovative instruments best suited to the changing financial needs of rural dwellers;
- support the development of an apex institution, which will enable rural banks to address generic technical and institutional constraints on their full potential and impact on rural economic development;
- strengthen intramural bank linkages for more efficient information transmission, knowledge sharing and cost-effective provision of services; and
- enhance the Bank of Ghana’s supervision of rural banks.
While the project is national in scope, interventions concentrate in rural areas, which account for more than 70% of national poverty
RFSP has four components:
- Component 1: Capacity-Building – Informal Financial Sector
- Component 2: Capacity-Building – Rural Banks
- Component 3: Institution-Building – Apex Bank
- Component 4: Institutional Support to Bank of Ghana/Ministry of Finance (MOF)
Duration: 2004-2008
Total Amount 22.900.000 USD
Address
Mr. Daniel ASARE-MINTAH
National Coordinator
Bank of Ghana P.O. Box 2674 Accra, Ghana
Tel +233 21 66 56 67
Fax +233 21 66 08 65
Email : dasaremintah@bog.gov.gh