The World Bank has approved $250 million from the International Development Association (IDA) to establish the Development Bank of Ghana (DBG).

The Bretton Woods institution said the move is to help increase access to long term finance.

It will also boost job creation for 10,000 enterprises in agribusinesses, manufacturing and high value services.

Pierre Laporte, World Bank Country Director for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia said “By offering long-term wholesale financing, credit guarantees, and other services, the Ghana Development Finance project will help increase overall lending to priority sectors and market segments,”

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“The project is aligned with government priorities outlined in the Coordinated Programme of Economic and Social Development Policies and is an integral part of the World Bank Group’s efforts to promote sustainable growth in Ghana.”

The project, he said will provide financial services to about 10,000 enterprises, including 2,000 women led Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs), and therefore contribute to economic growth and diversification.

It will also strengthen the oversight of development finance institutions and the adoption of Environmental and Social standards by financial institutions.

For his part, Carlos Vicente, the World Bank Senior Financial Sector Economist said “These interventions will include the establishment of a Partial Credit Guarantee facility and a digital financing platform to leverage private sector financing by making it more efficient and less risky for private financiers to lend to MSMEs,”

The World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), established in 1960, helps the world’s poorest countries by providing grants and low to zero-interest loans for projects and programs that boost economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve poor people’s lives.