ghanaopendata/ghanaian-research-english huggingface dataset:
The impact of management and entrepreneurship education on entrepreneurial activities of university graduates in Ghana.

Youth employment in recent years has become a major challenge in Africa, especially in Ghana. Despite the introduction of entrepreneurship and management education in the country which is considered an important catalyst of the decision to start a business, about 24 to 28 percent of the graduates still remain unemployed. This suggests that unemployment is one of the major weakness of the Ghanaian economy. Nonetheless, there exist few studies on the impact these courses has on entrepreneurial activities. Using a mixed-method approach, the study investigated the impact of entrepreneurship and management education on entrepreneurial activities of graduates in Ghana. Findings revealed that entrepreneurial activities were high among graduates, with majority of them from families that have the tradition of doing business. The study further established that creative skills, ability to generate innovative ideas, drive and determination and ability to sell one‘s vision were the most critical entrepreneurial skills. Also, ability to make informed decisions, plan and organize, identify product benefits, and technical skills were the most critical managerial skills needed for entrepreneurial activities. The managerial and non-managerial challenges hindering entrepreneurial activities among graduates included poor access to markets, poor management practices, lack of government support, high taxation, inadequate work, entrepreneurial experience, and lack of family support. In addition, entrepreneurship education was found to have a significant impact on entrepreneurial activities of graduates. It was therefore recommended that government should provide an enabling business environment and business policies to enhance entrepreneurial activities in Ghana. Also, entrepreneurship and management education should be made core course at all levels of education in the country to enhance entrepreneurial skills and spirit among students.

Source: KNUST
Impact of mergers and acquisitions on banks' performance in Ghana.

ABSTRACT Due to increasing competition, new financing possibilities and changes in regulation all over the world, mergers and acquisitions (M&A) have become popular strategic tools for growth. Every merger or acquisition, whether large or small, has inherent complexities that need to be clearly understood and properly addressed to ensure that value is created. Due to globalization and expansion of economies, firms will have to consolidate to be able to compete on international scale and be able to undertake big ticketing transactions. Some sectors such as finance, telecommunication and petroleum have been transformed since 1994 by the occurrence of very large-scale mergers and acquisitions. The larger the economy, the more likely to have more companies that could merge with each other and this creates a rippling effect which improves the economy. As such developing countries, of which Ghana is no exception, are now embracing the concept of pursuing acquisitions and mergers as a means of sustainable growth. This study analyzes beyond a single case study as it assessed the mergers of Ecobank Ghana and The Trust Bank (TTB), SocieteGenerale and SG SSB and Access bank and Intercontinental bank to evaluate whether the mergers of these groups has led to improvement in their performance. A financial analysis of the three merged banks before and after the merger was undertaken in this study to ascertain whether the merger has made the group better off than operating individually. Data were collected from the published annual reports and accounts of the selected banks and were subsequently uses STATA and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) for the data analysis t-test statistics through statistical package for social sciences. It was found that the post-mergers and acquisitions‟ period was more financially efficient than the pre￾mergers and acquisitions period. iii iv However, to increase banks financial efficiency, the study recommend that banks should be more aggressive in their profit drive for improved financial position to reap the benefit of post mergers and acquisitions bid.

Source: KNUST
The impact of mergers and acquisitions on company employment- case study of MTN and Areeba

Mergers and acquisitions (M&As) continue to be a dominant growth strategy for companies worldwide. The scope of this paper examined is the impact of this phenomenon on employment and on the efficiency of human resources. M & A is not popular in Ghana and it is anticipated that in few years to come it is going to be integral part in the economy. As a result the intricalsis involved in mergers and acquisitions must be known. Few mergers and acquisitions that have taken place in the country have resulted in job losses. This is why workers of Agricultural Development Bank were against the takeover by Stanbic bank of South Africa.

Source: KNUST
The impact of mergers and acquisitions' on product innovations: a case study of SG - SSB Ltd

Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) are changing the structure of many banking sectors in today's world. They are not a force of change in themselves but rather a response to the forces of change and to changes in market structures. And the impact of M&A on the global national economy has been remarkable as many organizations have been using it as a strategy for growth. Some organizations have also been using it as a means to foster innovations within the organization and to ensure the growth of the entire firm. Countless companies in all industries have grown very fast in part due to aggressive mergers and acquisitions and this is as a result of the impact of technology. Globalisation has also forced many banks to explore M&A as a means to develop an international presence and expanded market share. Concurrent with the heavy M&A-activities, innovation has become increasingly important as a way for companies to achieve and maintain a competitive advantage. With both M&A and innovation central in today's competitive development, it is important to understand the consequences of M&A transactions on the innovative activities of the firm. The effects of M&A on the innovative activities of the firm, in the specific context of product innovation and branch development have been investigated at SG-SSB. This is because researchers have been challenged to balance both the detrimental and beneficial effects of M&A on the innovativeness of the firm. The case study approach was used to analyse this effect. The case study design employed for collecting this data allowed for the uncovering of how M&A impacts innovation by interviewing key managers and customers and scrutinizing the dynamic reorganization process of SG-SSB and their M&A deal. The study revealed that an M&A could impart positively or negatively on a bank depending on how the deal is handled, area of concentration by the company, motive behind the deal and the effort put into research and development after the deal. The results revealed that M&A activities can enhance the level of innovativeness of a company increasing their level of products new for the firm. This increase of innovation levels, however, seems to takes place only in relation to the company. When concentration is done on the degree of firm's innovativeness, considering the products new for the market, the situation is different. In this case, M&A activities do not seem to be relevant in increasing products new to the market. This results seems to suggest that « M&As enhance the internal renewing of a firm, strengthening its capabilities to introduce products that were already present in the market, but not produce by the firm. In a certain sense, M&As seems to increase the competitiveness of the firm in the market, making it able to imitate products that before were not produce internally. However, M&As do not seem to improve the firms capabilities and competences necessary to introduce into the market a completely new product.

Source: KNUST
Impact of micro credit on household income: evidence from customers of selected rural banks in awutu senya east distict

The study's primary goal is to assess the impact of microcredit on household income of customers of selected rural banks in the Awutu Senya East District. The study adopts the quantitative research approach, descriptive method and the survey strategy. The study employs the simple random sampling to select respondents. The sample size is 398. Primary data are employed which are obtained using the structured research questionnaires. The data are analyzed using descriptive techniques and inferential techniques (specifically the chi square analysis). The study finds that there is no significant association between the gender of a customer and access to obtaining microcredit from the rural banks. The study reveals that the most dominant reasons for obtaining microcredit include starting/expanding of business, for agricultural/farming activities, and for acquisition of assets. The study also reveals that accessibility to microcredit has improved the household income of the participants. Again, the study reveals that some of the most common challenges confronting access to microcredit include lower credit below expectation, high interest rate, and breach of previous terms. The study concludes that indeed microcredit helps to empower households by enhancing their households. Hence, there is the need to work at mitigating the challenges the confront customers in accessing credit to enhance accessibility to make it more appealing to people to help reduce poverty among people.

Source: KNUST
Impact of Micro-Credit on Business Income: A Case Study of Women in the Agona Districts

Access to adequate and affordable credit for businesses remains one of the key challenges to local economic development in Ghana, despite efforts by both government and private sector organisations since independence in 1957 to address the problem. The study examines women’s access to micro credit and impact of credit on income from formal financial institution in Agona East and West districts of Central Region of Ghana. A set of questionnaire was administered to 200 women. In addition, managers and credit officers of formal financial institutions operating in these districts were interviewed. Focus group discussion was used to supplement the questionnaires. Data analysis followed a two prong approach by making use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. For the qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics such as percentages, means, frequencies and cross tabulations were used. In the case of quantitative analysis logit, and propensity score matching were employed. The result revealed that formal education, perception of application procedures, level of income, farm size, membership to economic associations, savings with financial institutions the type of business, the perception of interest charged and the distance from respondents’ residence to the financial institution are the factors that influence respondents’ probability of access to micro credit from the financial institutions. Furthermore, access to credit has significant impact on income. In order to increase access to micro credit there is the need for education of the woman and they should be encouraged to join groups. They should also be encouraged to undertake savings. The government needs to play a role by creating incentive packages for these institutions to facilitate credit provision to the women.

Source: KNUST
The Impact of Micro Credit on Small Businesses. Evidence from Microfinance and Small Loans Center (MASLOC)

This study sought to establish the impact of micro credit on small businesses with evidence from MASLOC. The study used a causal and descriptive design to establish the relationship between sales performance and access to credit in the SME sector in Ghana. Cross sectional survey was used to gather relevant data for the study using self developed questionnaire. The target population was that of the micro businesses in Madina with a sample size of 120. The data analysis made use of tables, bar charts and graphs. The study was employed both descriptive and inferential statistics to assess the influence the relationship between credit access and SME performance. The study revealed that on the effects of credit access on sales, it was quite clear that sales tend to increase after capital injection from MASLOC. The impact of access to credit had statistically significant influence on sales performance. The study also found that capital investment had a positive and statistically significant impact on sales performance but the use of credit for recurrent expenditure has a negative but statistically insignificant impact on sales performance. Beneficiaries should be educated to know the implications of their acts on the business as far as the loan repayment is concern. Only incomes from the business should be used to pay for such expenses. Finally, to increase the impact, the loan products have to fit the financial needs of a wider range of household economic activities. This will however help reduce diversion and a significant reduction in the defaulting rate of customers.

Source: KNUST
Impact of Micro-Credit on Business Income: A Case Study of Women in the Agona Districts in Central Region, Ghana

Access to adequate and affordable credit for businesses remains one of the key challenges to local economic development in Ghana, despite efforts by both government and private sector organisations since independence in 1957 to address the problem. The study examines women’s access to micro credit and impact of credit on income from formal financial institution in Agona East and West districts of the Central Region of Ghana. A set of questionnaire was administered to 200 women. In addition, managers and credit officers of formal financial institutions operating in these districts were interviewed. Focus group discussion was used to supplement the questionnaires. Data analysis followed a two prong approach by making use of both qualitative and quantitative techniques. For the qualitative analysis, descriptive statistics such as percentages, means, frequencies and cross tabulations were used. In the case of quantitative analysis logit, and propensity score matching were employed. The result revealed that formal education, perception of application procedures, level of income, farm size, membership to economic associations, savings with financial institutions the type of business, the perception of interest charged and the distance from respondents’ residence to the financial institutions, are the factors that influence respondents’ probability of access to micro credit from the financial institutions. Furthermore, access to credit has significant impact on income.

Source: KNUST
The impact of micro-credit on poverty reduction in rural areas: a case study of Jaman North District, Ghana

Poverty reduction has been a major concern for successive governments in Ghana over the years because it is believed to be the universally accepted way of achieving economic growth in the country. This study with the title “the impact of microcredit on poverty reduction: A case study on Jaman North District , was chosen based on the fact that, the District has a lot of microfinance institutions which give credit to the poor. Two different questionnaires were designed for programme beneficiaries and non-programme beneficiaries, and the microfinance institutions and face to face interviews, were the instrument used to collect data. The data was analyzed with tables, percentages and diagrams using Microsoft Excel. First, a multi-stage sampling technique was employed in the selection of the study area while a purposeful or judgmental sampling was used to select the beneficiaries and non beneficiaries for the study. The objectives of the study were to assess whether microfinance has engendered positive or negative outcomes in reducing poverty. The findings from the study were that people, especially vulnerable and marginalized were getting access to credit which impacted positively on the poverty levels of the beneficiaries. In conclusion Most of the rural economic poor tend to look up to Microfinance institutions for credit. Fortunately, these institutions are geared towards the rural poor. It was recommended that, Sustain poverty reduction requires action and policies that will improve both the productive and the human capital of the poor. Policy interventions must be well targeted if the benefits are to reach the poor. Secondly, to meet the needs of the poor, formal institutions should be made to offer small loans that do not require physical collateral.

Source: KNUST
The impact of micro-financing on the empowerment of women in Ghana:A Case Study of Akad Microfinance

The research focused on the impact of micro-financing on the empowerment of women in Ghana. The specific objectives of the study were to assess the level of satisfaction with regards to micro-finance services to women, determine challenges that women face in accessing loans from financial institutions, assess the extent to which micro-finance can be a tool for poverty alleviation among women, identify the constraints encountered by the micro-finance industry in poverty alleviation and how best they can be resolved. A survey as a sampling technique was used to select the sample. Questionnaires were used to get the response of the respondents. Descriptive statistics was used for the study. It was revealed from the analysis that AKAD microfinance empowers women in several ways. It has helped most of them build successful business yet there are some challenges that face the women in accessing loan from AKAD microfinance. Some of these challenges are high interest rate, lack of collateral and short payback period. It also came to light that the reason why most of the women were refused loans was lack of trust. From the study, strategies of improving access to loans in reducing poverty among women were reduction of interest rates, relaxing the conditions of loans and increasing payback period.

Source: KNUST
The impact of microfinance institutions on the development of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises in Ghana

This research investigates the impact of microfinance on the development of micro and small scale enterprises in Ghana. The study was undertaken in the Kumasi Metropolis in the Ashanti Region. First Allied Savings and Loans Limited and Multi Credit Savings and Loans Limited were purposively chosen for this study due to their proximity and contributions to development of Micro and Small Scale Enterprises (MSEs). In all, 400 SMEs beneficiaries of First Allied Savings and Loans Limited and Multi Credit Savings and Loans Limited were respondents in this study. The researcher used questionnaire as an instrument of primary data collection. Tables and simple percentages were used in data presentation. For impact analysis, simple regression was used to estimate the impact of Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) on development of micro and small scale enterprises in Ghana using two variables; sales or level of turnover (the dependent variable) and loans (the independent variable). From the survey, as many as 41.5% of the operators in MSEs were illiterate and ignorant about activities of MSEs and this poses managerial difficulty for the operators in the sector but the MFIs have done little to improve the managerial skills of the operators in MSEs. However, 1 per cent increase in quantum of loans from First Allied Savings and Loans Limited and Multi Credit Savings and Loans increases turnover (sales) by 4.621% and 1.153% respectively and this suggests that loans from MFIs increases sales of MSEs more than percentage increase in loans. Moreover, loans from MFIs improve working environment, quantity and quality of inputs. To increase the impact of MFIs on the development of MSEs in Ghana, the researcher recommends frequent entrepreneurial training programmes for operators of MSEs. The MSEs should be encouraged to form associations in their respective industry so as to see to the regulation and training of operators in the industry. Also, the micro finance institutions should organise training seminars for their clients in the area of entrepreneurship skills (managerial and marketing skills). Moreover, the government of Ghana through the Central Bank of Ghana should establish National Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSEs, which should guarantee at least 80% of loans needed by small and medium enterprises in Ghana. Moreover, the Micro finance firms should be ready to grant large loan to the deserving MSEs and monitor such clients to ensure smooth repayment of loans. Also, the Micro finance institutions should diversify their iv credit portfolio to include supply of inputs on credit to clients. This should target the clients into manufacturing and agro – processing industries since they need large and costly capital equipment than the clients into trading and services. The researcher concludes that microfinance institutions in Ghana are identified to be one of the key players in the financial industry that have positively affected MSEs and the economy at large through the services they offer and the functions they perform in the economy.

Source: KNUST
The impact of microcredit on smallholder livestock production in Wa Municipality: a case of the livestock development project

Though livestock production is widespread in almost every part of Ghana, its output is just about 8 percent of GDP compared to about 75 percent in many countries particularly the developed nations. It is estimated that US $100 million is used on the import of livestock and livestock products annually in Ghana. In an attempt to close the gap between demand and supply of livestock products in the country, MoFA granted credits to livestock farmers in Wa Municipality under the Livestock Development Project (LDP). Meanwhile, over the years, government microcredit schemes in Ghana suffered high rate of default and seems not to be making the desired impact. This study sets out to describe the nature of operation of the credit component of the LDP; assess how smallholder livestock farmers utilized the credit received; assess the impact of the microcredit on smallholder livestock production; and identify the challenges and constraints confronting smallholder livestock. The ‘after only’ research design was used because there was no base-line studies. Respondents were selected using stratified random sampling, simple random sampling and purposive sampling. Questionnaire and field observation were used to collect data which were analysed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings show that: the credit in cash component of the project suffered a high default rate represented by 53.8 percent of the total amount expected from the recovery; 47.5 percent of the credit in cash beneficiaries diverted the credit either in part or in full from purchasing livestock into other activities; livestock production was constrained by high mortality rate, limited supply of feed, limited veterinary services and the type of livestock breed; and all the research hypotheses were significant at 10 percent significance level. In view of these findings, it was recommended that smallholder livestock farmers should be trained on fodder preparation, veterinary training institutions should be expanded and all veterinarians should be directly employed by Government, monitoring should be extended to cover every aspect of future projects, and demonstration should be carried out in future projects. Generally, the LDP made a positive impact on smallholder livestock production in the Municipality despite some challenges it encountered

Source: KNUST