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DANIDA, USAID support BUSAC

By Kofi Ahovi
The Danish International Development Association (DANIDA) and the United State Agency for International Development (USAID) have signed a delegated cooperation agreement to support the Business Sector Advocacy fund II (BUSAC) with a total of US$12 million.

The agreement allows DANIDA to act as lead donor on behalf of the delegating donor, USAID to reduce transaction cost between the two institutions as well as for BUSAC. The European Union is expected to join very soon.

The Head of Develpment of DANIDA, Jan Poulsen during the signing ceremony in Accra last week said, the signing of the agreement is a landmark that signifies the strong commitment by USA and Denmark to increase harmonization and aid effectiveness in Ghana.

The BUSAC fund is a project set up to strengthen the advocacy capacity of private sector business groups and associations. The second phase of the fund was designed drawing lessons from the first phase.

The BUSAC fund II is a five-year extension to BUSAC fund I and is intended to consolidate the gains made in during the first phase of the fund and to further spread the concept and practice of advocacy to all sectors of the economy in all regions and districts of Ghana. Activities of the fund will support private sector development objectives of government as defined in the Private Sector Development Strategy II.

BUSAC fund II is a competitive, demand-driven mechanism. It allows for a transparent selection of advocacy actions identified by Private Sector Organisation (PSOs) for grant support with special emphasis placed on sustainability of advocacy actions by PSOs

The goal of the project is to support the PSOs to upgrade their capacity and generate assets to undertake advocacy actions such that they will no longer need external support when BUSAC fund II ends in 2014.

The BUSAC fund was started by DANIDA in 2004 as part of its commitment to private sector development in Ghana. USAID and the Department for International Development (DFID) later joined to support the first phase, which was completed in 2010.

During the first phase of the fund, about 362 grants worth US$8 million were provided to business associations, trades unions, and media houses across the country. The multiplying effect of the support is estimated to have reached more than 4.8 million Ghanaians.

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