Narrowing the Gap in SME Financing in Developing Countries: a Case of Retail Pharmaceutical Companies in Ashanti Region, Ghana

Access to finance remains a key constraint to SME development in emerging economies. Comprehensive data on the SME finance gap is still more consistently collected and monitored over time; however various data sources and studies indicate that small firms rely on internal financing much more than large firms do. The main objective of the study is to evaluate the challenges and the extent of financing of SMEs within the Ashanti Region of Ghana, taking cognizance of the role and contributions of Retail pharmaceutical industries. The sources of materials for the study were both primary and secondary. The purposive sampling technique was used to select a sample size of 250 Pharmaceutical Small and Medium Enterprise owners who operate in and around Kumasi. Primary data were collected by the use of structured questionnaires and interviews were administered to Pharmaceutical Small and Medium Enterprise owners and employees of the companies alike. Secondary materials were extracted from relevant textbooks, newspapers, reports/articles, journals, bulletins and documents presented by corporate financial analysts and policy planners. The study showed that although the pharmaceutical industries were aware of the presence of other financing firms, they could not access loans due to procedures used to source the loans. They are also of the view that government must be actively involved in helping these retail industries get loans. In order to bridge the gap, the populace must be educated on the presence of these other firms and ways they can use to access those funds. In view of the findings, it was concluded that there should be a national policy on SMEs by the government in respect of funding among others in other to educate SMEs in the efficient and effective financial management of their businesses. This, the researchers believe will help SMEs to grow into much bigger industries in the near future. Keywords: Government of Ghana (GoG), Small and Medium scale Enterprise (SME

Electronic Banking in Ghana: A Case of GCB Bank Ltd

The introductions of electronic banking products and services have changed the nature and way of financial service delivery to customers in Ghana. The purpose of this study is to gain an insight or a deep understanding into electronic banking products and services that customers subscribe to and to find out from both the bank and its customers perspective the benefits they enjoy and the challenges they are faced with whiles providing and accessing the facilities respectively. The methodology used to conduct this research consisted of questionnaires and interviews to collect data. Non-probability sampling which this research adopted and used provided a range of alternative techniques based on researchers’ subjective judgment. SPSS and Microsoft Excel were used for organizing, analyzing and interpreting the data collected. The population of interest was defined as retail customers of GCB Bank Ltd. The sample size for the study was 200 customers and 25 employees of GCB Bank Ltd. Data collection was conducted in four branches of GCB Bank Ltd in Kumasi. The study found out that ATM services were the most popular among users and constituted the main knowledge of customers as far electronic banking was concerned. It was followed by SMS or mobile banking. Similarly, that electronic banking was convenient and saves customers time was the major benefit for which reason most customers used the banks electronic products and currently persist. As a strategy, awareness of GCB electronic banking products and services is very essential to increase customer knowledge and usage since most of GCBs electronic banking products and services are new in Ghana and particularly to its customers. Effective presentations using all forms of media advertising such as leaflets, brochures, web pages etc will be useful to introduce the products and services to its customers and a wider audience. Finally, a high quality internet infrastructure and other systems support services and IT infrastructure should be provided by GCB since it is one of the primary requirements for electronic banking. Keywords: E-banking, Internet banking, ATM, SMS, PO

The Role of Financial Intermediation in Alleviating Poverty in Ghana: The Case of GCB Bank Ltd

Poverty is a major challenge that confronts most developing countries including Ghana. Economists believe that the problem of poverty can be tackled through various measures. The main objectives of the study are to explore the role and challenges of financial intermediation in wealth creation and poverty alleviation that face GCB Bank Ltd and also to find ways by which financial intermediation may be improved. The researchers adopted disproportionate stratified sampling. The sample size of 210 was made up of 14 zonal management executives/staff of GCB corporate/SME Banking Division and branches, 50 corporate/SME clients of GCB Bank Ltd, 146 retail clients of GCB Bank Ltd. Interviews and questionnaire were used as data collection instruments. The study revealed that efficiency in capital allocation, income generation, enhancement in private sector productive and Job creation are some of the roles through which financial intermediation alleviates poverty in Ghana. On the other hand, the management of GCB Bank Ltd enumerated various challenges such as high default rate, high bank minimum capitalization, High inter-bank interest rate, failure of interest rates to conform to low policy rates especially in the short – run and the absence of an effective credit reference bureau. Finally, the study proposed, that the best ways to improve financial intermediation are by expanding branch network; constant maintenance of systems, advancing more credit facilities to the informal sector; improving on the use of information technology; and pegging bank interest rate to the policy rate. Keywords: Poverty, GCB Bank Ltd, Financial intermediatio

The Impact of Customer Care on Product Positioning: A Case Study of Ghana Commercial Bank Ltd – Kumasi, Ghana

With the increasing number of financial institutions in Ghana, banks are competing to attract customers to be in business and Ghana Commercial Bank Limited is no exception. Customer care is a crucial element of business success towards the creation of products that will meet the needs of the customers. The purpose of the study was to assess the impact of customer care in product positioning at GCBL. The final sample included 10 staff members and 40 customers who were selected by randomized stratified sampling method. In order to collect the required data, a self completion questionnaire was used. The questionnaire forms were collected and analyzed. The results of the questionnaire showed that products can be positioned by treating each customer as unique. Again the bank can position its products by addressing customer complaints effectively. However there is the tendency that customers may switch to other banks if not well catered for. The study concluded that, customer care should be given a favourable consideration in the bank. The research also provides the bank with some suggestions to improve customer care and therefore, meet the demand of the customers. Keywords: customer care, products position, Ghana Commercial Bank and customer