Effect Of Rural Enterprises Programme’s Business Development Services On Livelihoods And Empowerment Of MSES In Two Districts Of The Ashanti Region Of Ghana

This research was conducted at the instance the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) graduate Win-Win Field Practicum Grant for students undergoing a study in Development Practice at all the global Partner Universities, University of Ibadan being the only partner university in Nigeria.

The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), an international financial institution and a specialized agency of the United Nations is dedicated to eradicating poverty and hunger in rural areas of developing countries. In Ghana, IFAD is one of the major funders of the Rural Enterprises Programme (REP) which is part of Ghana Government‘s efforts to reduce poverty and improve living conditions in the rural areas. The Rural Enterprises Programme is also funded by the Government of Ghana and the African Development Bank (AfDB). The goal of REP is to improve the livelihoods and increase the incomes of rural poor micro and small entrepreneurs. Its development objective is to increase the number of rural MSEs that generate profit, growth and employment opportunities. The success of Phases I & II of the project in 66 districts led to the 3rd phase of the programme which is now run in 161 rural districts all over the country.