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Interview Summary: Skills Development Fund
Skills Development Fund
Business SectorIndustry:
Development Project Finance
Location of OperationsProduction: Ghana
Date of Interview: June 25, 2015
Location of Interview: Accra, Ghana
Company FocusProduct:
The Skills Development Fund SDF was established in 2008 but started operations in 2012.
SDF is funded by three sources: The World Bank IDA through the Ghana Skills and Technology Development Project 2011-2015, Danish International
Development Agency DANIDA through the Support to Private Sector Development Programme 2010-2014 and the Government of Ghana.
The World Bank support is US50 million and DANIDA US10 million for Phase 1 currently being implemented.
SDF is currently managed by the Project Support Unit of Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training COTVET.
The SDF is a challenge fund providing a demand-driven response to three critical challenges encountered by the productive sectors of Ghana: i an
adequately qualified labor force; ii the urgency of providing new entrants to the labor market with gainful, employable skills; and iii inadequate access to
new technologies and innovations. The Fund also supports partnerships between science and technology providers
and industry targeting productivity improvements, product diversification, and growth through technology development or organizational innovations.
The SDF is expected in the medium term to be mainstreamed and become the Governments principal instrument for providing financial support to skills and
technology innovation through collaboration between key stakeholders such as Government, development partners, industry-specific operators.
The beneficiaries of SDF include micro, small, medium and large industries and businesses, labour unions and trade associations, public and private training
institutions, universities, polytechnics and other agencies engaged in technology development.
The SDF provides funding grants for skills and technology development through four windows, each catering for a particular target group.
i. Window 1: Formal Sector Enterprises
– Ceiling, US327,000 80 from SDF and 20 in cash from beneficiary;
ii. Window 2: Informal SectorMSEs
– Ceiling, US56,000 90 from SDF and 10 in cash or kind from beneficiary;
iii. Window 3: Training Innovation
– Ceiling, US466,000 75 from SDF and 25 in cash for private firms and 25 in kind for public
institutions
iv. Window 4: a. Technology Partnerships
– Ceiling, US500,000 75
from SDF and 25 in cash from beneficiary b. Technology Centres –
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Ceiling, US1 million 50-75 from SDF and 25-50 in cash or kind
from beneficiary. SDF has so far provided grants to over 600 public institutions, organizations
and enterprises and this figure is expected to reach 100,000 by the end of 2015. SDF is about to go for the second phase starting from June 2016 -2020 with a
cash injection of US100million from donors. Generally, about 1 in 5 applications have been approved by SDF for the formal
sector.
Business Interests:
SDF is interested in giving grants to SMEs for their staff to be trained and acquire the needed skills for expansion of SME businesses and for the creation
jobs. SDF is generally interested in labour force training for competitiveness of
Ghanaian workers in the informal sector. SDF is also interested in partnering with projects that support technology and
innovation.
Business Challenges:
Inability of businesses to accept the fact that SDF is transparent in its award of grants.
Difficulty of businesses to understand SDF operations and criteria for awarding grants so they present winning proposals.
CSR if any:
SDF is a project as such does not undertake CSR.
AlliancePartnership Potential highmediumlow: High
Program Areas Project Overlap:
SDF can be partnered to provide grants to train the fish processing women in modern methods of processing, financial management and bookkeeping among
others under Window 2 or Window 3. SDF can also be partnered to provide grants to support payments for ICT
infrastructure to curb IUU under Window 4a. SDF is willing to give projects with objectives such as those of SFMP
exceptional treatment in the review and approval processes for their proposals i.e. proposal from SFMP for a partnership will be treated differently.
Company assets:
Liquidity, willingness to consider partnership with SFMP, understanding of SME needs and interest in the fishing sector.
Previouscurrent engagement with USAID if any: None known
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Drawbacks mini-due diligence:
When SDF project ends, partnership activities that are recurring cannot be funded and this could affect sustainability of such projects.
Point of Contact:
Ebenezer Ato Simpson Fund Manager
T: +233 312 291966 M: +233 20 9977795 244 381711
E: asimpsoncotvet.org Website:
