The Edge Credit Union has been launched by Tarragon Edge Limited, a leading Ghanaian SME business advisory and implementation services company, to support Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana.
According to the promoters, The Edge Credit Union is mobilising financial resources to support the MSMEs in the Accra metropolis and other parts of the country.
Speaking at the launch, Lead Consultant of Tarragon Edge, Dr Genevieve Pearl Duncan Obuobi Obuobi said that about five years ago, she had the vision of operating a community bank to support businesses and individuals, especially women -led businesses and the youth.
“It has taken some time to get here, and I did not get here alone”, she said.
She added that several people have been part of the dream to create something great to support Ghanaian businesses struggling to access financial resources to grow their businesses due to the lack of system and structure associated with these businesses.
For the past 5 years Tarragon has been partnering MSMEs with these basic systems and young professionals with capacity building and go to market strategies for their ideas,hence building an ecosystem to support them with funding is a critical part of our focus.
This cooperative banking system she believes is going to support a lot of women and the youth to contribute their quota to the country’s socio-economic development.
Dr. Duncan-Obuobi, who has a strong background in banking, explained that the lack of support towards SMEs is because most institutions find the absence of a well-structured system in these small companies as a major risk.
After a career at one of the leading banks in the country, Dr Duncan-Obuobi conducted a study on SMEs, to better understand the risks, challenges, and opportunities in the sector.
“If we all continue talking about the risks and nobody is willing to take that initiative, it will be difficult. We cannot expect the big banks to do it all by themselves. There’s a need for collaboration. So where you find expertise, you must leverage and support it.”
“We are going to offer training and mentoring, to help entrepreneurs to build the right business structures. We aim to create an ecosystem and the first pillar of that system is the credit union. Once we have built capacity among our credit union members, we can now leverage on the financial resources that we have to help the businesses to grow”.
The difference
The Edge Credit Union difference lies in the consortium of consultants with different varied backgrounds and expertise, including lawyers, risk managers, trainers, financiers, and investors that customers will have access to, to address their needs. It’s not only the pool of financial resources, but the combination of those resources with the pool of key experts that will make a difference for customers.
Our focus is to grant Credit with Capacity Building to ensure an end to end support in an ecosystem where we are intentionally about growth and sustainability.
“With very competitive interest rates, we know that customers will be able to pay back the loans we offer. We have the requisite systems and processes that will ensure that loans are paid back promptly”, Dr Duncan Obuobi assured.
Focus
The Edge Credit Union’s focus is to support its customers and grow with their businesses. This is reflected in the various account products.
T- Edu Save Account: Mainly to support with continuous professional and personal development for the youth.
SME Savings to promote a savings culture in business leaders
T-Kids Save for building a savings mindset in our children
Lifestyle Account: For those people who wish to become investors, as well as save towards the realisation of lifestyle goals. They might want to save to buy a new car, or perhaps to go on holiday. They can save towards these lifestyle goals by signing on to The Edge Credit Union’s Lifestyle Account.
____________ Dr. Genevieve Pearl is a multiple award winner in Banking, Leadership and a light bearer for African Women.A versatile international speaker and panel moderator. She is listed as one of the 100 most impactful change makers in Africa by Humanitarian Awards Global 2023, and listed amongst the 40 most influential female leaders in Ghana 2020. She is a Customer Experience Strategist, Corporate Trainer and an SME consultant with great passion for gender financing and youth leadership. She is an Enthusiast of SDGs 5,7,8 and 17. She is currently the Lead Consultant of Tarragon Edge Limited. Prior to her new role, she worked with Fidelity Bank Ghana Limited were she managed flag ship branches and was known for her exceptional service delivery experience. Her expertise are in personal and team development, leadership, customer experience, partnership brokerage, writing and management consulting. Dr. Genevieve is an alumnus of the Swiss Business School Zurich, Switzerland where she earned her Doctorate in Business Administration, and the University of Ghana, Legon where she had her Masters Degree and GIMPA for her Bachelors in Business Administration. She is also management certified by CEIBS, Shanghai, Cranfield Management - UK and Harvard, USA. She is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Leadership and Governance, USA (Ghana Chapter) Dr Genevieve is a columnist in the Business and Financial Times in Ghana, the Author of The Jigsaw Effect of Leaders and The Diary of the Branch Manager. She is also a co-author of Who moved my heels and My Africa, my Identity. She enjoys sharing knowledge, writing, traveling and listening to good music. IG: theedge.cu FB: The Edge CU
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