Discussions to adopt the Business sans Borders ( BSB ) open hub of platforms between Singapore and Ghana have been going on between the Monetary Authority of Singapore ( MAS ) and the Bank of Ghana ( BOG ). The operations aim to benefit the small and medium sized enterprises ( SMEs ) and the micro SMEs ( MSEMs ) in both the countries as they expand their connectivity to counterpart with their economy, whilst introducing pioneering FinTech and digital tools to help each of the SME to effortlessly complete the regular business needs. MAS and BOG are to be working together on a complimentary Financial Trust Corridor ( FTC ) ingenuity to source great trust, trade and recognition between both countries’ business and financial institutions. These are targeted to help the SMEs and MSMEs of Singapore and Ghana achieve viable growth for the post-COVID 19 pandemic recovery. BSB is a joint initiative started by MAS and Infocomm Media Development Authority on a global digital infrastructure for all-in-one trade and digital business services connectivity. Both MAS and BOG will be closely involved with each country’s trade bodies, platforms, SME associations and financial sector in the implementation of the BSB meta-hub connectivity, which will abridge how SMEs and ecosystems from Singapore and Ghana can discover new buyers, suppliers and key financial and business services.
Ghana SME selling artisanal products or fruits from his Ghana marketplace will be able to digitally find a buyer in Singapore through BSB. This is the leverage BSB has on Artificial intelligence to easily integrate the trade and the business services to be discovered and flown. This enables commerce and the exchange of best in class techs and product services. The Ghana and Singapore SMEs will also be recommended essential business services, such as financing and logistics support, to complete the trade through BSB.
When both countries want to refer to and utilize the sharing key information relevant for credit assessment, whilst abiding by domestic and international regulations, such as data protection and anti-money laundering requirement, they can use the SME FTC, led by MAS and BOG, which comprises a governance framework and a digital infrastructure. A strong trust is being provided by the FTC for the SMEs by financial institutions expecting a leading growth in the breadth and depth of the financial sector support for the SMEs and businesses making it easier for SMEs which are involved in cross border trade. this trade will obtain fast and more working capital offerings and invoice financing.
Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief FinTech Officer, MAS said, “We are excited to partner BOG to create the world’s first SME financial trust corridor as well as welcome Ghana into Business sans Borders, an innovative global infrastructure initiative. Together we can start to build increased trade flows and enhance financial trust and services support between our economies through both the FTC and BSB initiatives. Proxtera, a new private entity supported by MAS and IMDA, will help to operationalize BSB and the FTC. With time, these efforts will scale towards a new global paradigm where our SMEs and financial institutions are trusted internationally and have seamless access to wider financing, new trade opportunities and intuitive digital tools.”
First Deputy Governor Dr Maxwell Opoku-Afari, Bank of Ghana, said, “Indeed, we are glad to be a part of this partnership with MAS. The choice of Ghana is an absolute endorsement of how our technological capabilities are growing and will impact strongly on SMEs, in addition to building a robust, resilient and well-connected FinTech Hub.”
