The Kwahu Traditional Area, especially the Kwahu South District, which until three years ago included Nkawkaw, a fast-growing municipality, is full of traders who deal in various merchandise.
The activities of these traders, whose shops were in Nkawkaw, Mpraeso and such big towns as Nkwatia, Obomeng, Obo and Kwahu Tafo have turned such towns into commercial centres, attracting all sorts of people.
The area is also endowed with arable land suitable for the cultivation of various crops such as tiger nuts, plantain, cereals, yam, cocoyam and cassava, so a lot of the inhabitants have gone into farming for livelihood.
A few others have also gone into transport business, operating all types of vehicles which convey passengers and cart goods all over the country.
However, despite the resourcefulness of the traders, transporters and farmers, not many have been able to expand their enterprises over the years.
That is because there was no financial institution that offered micro-credit facilities to support such small and medium-scale businesses.
While some of the shops remain virtually empty at certain periods of the year, farming activities do not progress and are at the subsistence level or small holdings to feed the families of the farmers, leaving very little for the market.
Those in the transport business cannot purchase new vehicles and have to make do with rickety vehicles, which most often, break down.
As a result, most of the enterprises cannot raise the required revenue to adequately meet the needs of their owners and dependants, so poverty is the order of the day, especially in the rural communities which rely solely on farming.
To reverse the situation in the area, especially in Kwahu Praso and its surrounding communities, which are noted for their food cultivation, a group of retired civil servants - Oppong Kissi, D. K. Dobreh and Yaw Kissi, all residents of Obo and of blessed memory and a prominent farmer, Mr E. A. Mensah, came out with the idea of establishing a rural bank to boost economic activities in the area.
The bank was also to cater for the domestic needs of the people as well as support the education of children or wards of customers and workers.
The bank, which was established in 1982 at Kwahu Praso, was named after the town, Kwahu Praso Rural Bank.
Credit facilities
To fulfil its objectives, the bank, which started its operations on a modest note, has grown over the years and started offering credit facilities to the people.
The beneficiaries include farmers, traders and operators of transport services and other categories of customers such as workers, who benefit from all sorts of facilities, ranging from salary advances and loans to support their education.
Parents, especially those in subsistence farming, who under normal circumstance cannot afford to pay for the education of their children or wards, have also, over the years, been granted loans to meet such needs.
The most significant aspect of the bank’s loan portfolio is that it keeps increasing each passing year.
For instance, in 2007, the bank gave out GH¢204,822.00 as loans and advances to its customers. That increased to GH¢363,780 the following year.
Out of the amount given out in 2008, GH¢45,030 went into agriculture (food crop production and maintenance of cocoa farms,) GH¢50,300 to transport services; GH¢5,200.00 into cottage industries; GH¢62,700.00 went into education, while GH¢79,440.00 was made available for other customers to take care of their various needs.
Catchment area
According to the Supervising Manager, Mr Kwame Owusu Ansah, the bank had this year given out macrofinancing packages totally GH¢70,902 to small-scale groups with membership of about 25. In all, 202 people from the bank’s catchment area have benefited from that facility.
“We have also assisted the Kwahu Praso, Nkawkaw-Koforidua, Nkawkaw-Accra Station B branches of the Ghana Private Road Transport Union to own new vehicles for commercial purposes, while many people have also been supported to expand their businesses, farms and other micro or medium-sized enterprises.
“In addition to that, an amount of GH¢62,700 has been given out as salary advances and personal loans, which has made it possible for the beneficiaries to improve on their lot, particularly in education,” Mr Owusu Ansah stated.
Three women at Nnadieso, Madam Yaa Aboagyewaa, Dora Fremah and Helen Akyaa, who had between GH¢800 and GH¢1,000 as loans to support their businesses, were full of praise for the bank, but wished the amount should be increased.
The Chairman of the Nkawkaw-Koforidua branch of the GPRTU, Mr Ernest Ansong, whose outfit also took some of the loans, said the union would go in for more of such facilities.
With regard to its social responsibility, the Kwahu Praso Rural Bank has also done a lot with a yearly support, either in cash or in kind to the communities.
For example, this year, the bank donated constructional materials for the rehabilitation of a kindergarten at Kwahu Praso, supplied electric bulbs for street lights at Muramura, a farming community near Kwahu Praso, and also donated crocodile machetes to the Kwahu South and Kwahu East districts to be given out as prizes at the recently organised Farmers Day in the two districts.
The bank is also currently supporting the Kwahu South District Assembly to construct a lorry park and durbar ground for Kwahu Praso.
To improve its services, the bank, which has two mobilisation centres at Prah River and Suminakese, will be rehabilitating its agencies at Obo, Nkawkaw, Nkwatia and complete its computerisation programme to link the agencies with its headquarters. It will also continue with the periodical training of the staff.
The bank has been able to offer credit facilities and honoured its social responsibility due to the significant contributions of the board members, namely Mr Eric Kwakye Darfour, the Chairman; Madam Grace Boateng, Vice Chairperson; Messrs Fred Adu Dwumor, Samuel Darfour, J.K. Boakye, Board Secretary, Chairman of Finance Committee and Chairman of the Human Resource Committee respectively.
The prudent measures outlined in the boardroom, which were vigorously implemented, have increased the fortunes of the bank tremendously.
For instance, its deposits grew from GH¢465,790 in 2005 to GH¢556,775.00 in 2006 and GH¢714,490.00 in 2007, and then to GH¢919,231.00 in 2008.
Its pre-tax profit also rose from GH¢12,556.00 in 2006 to GH¢35,237.00 in 2007 and GH¢29,302.00 in 2008.
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