Abstract

SMEs are pivotal to economic growth globally. They are however, often said to be constrained by the lack of or limited access to funding. Despite this assertion, the nature of the credit constraint problem is not well known in Ghana especially regarding its various dimensions. Knowing these dimensions is critical to formulating appropriate policies to deal with the problem. The purpose of this paper is to provide empirical evidence on the various dimensions of the credit constraint problem in Ghana. The survey strategy of enquiry was employed based on the adoption of the direct method of determining credit constraints. It was observed amongst other things that the credit constraint is almost entirely a supply-side problem as the demand-side constraint is almost non-existent. It has been recommended amongst other things that intervention policies should focus on the very small business as the incidence and degree of constraint tends to be higher amongst them.

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