The Ghana Employers Association (GEA) has organised a two-day workshop to build the capacity of members of the Council of Indigenous Business Association (CIBA).

The workshop which was held in Ho forms part of a series of capacity building workshops being organised for small businesses under the GEA/BSPS project.

The workshop was aimed at building the capacity of small business association in decent working and core labour standards, business development services, financial management principles, promoting and marketing of products and services.

Participants include operators of non-governmental organisations, dressmakers,beauticians, among others.

The Project Manager, Ghana Employers’ Association, Mr. Charles Asante-Bempong, in his opening remarks reiterated the importance of building the capacity of small scale business operators as part of government’s effort at promoting private business to enhance the economy.

He urged the participants to take advantage of the workshop to enhance their knowledge and understanding in order to develop their business to meet international standards.

Mr. Asante Bempong said Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have been identified to play a significant role in the employment generation and income of every economy.

In Ghana, for instance, MSMEs are said to account for 92 per cent of the private sector and contributes to 60-80 per cent of employment, he said. Mr. Asante Bempong was quick to add that majority of these enterprises were found in the informal sector with a little or no regulatory framework to enhance their activities.

He added that although these enterprises posse enormous potential, they are confronted with many challenges such as low technical know-how, absence of economies of scale and low productivity.

Mr. Asante-Bempong mentioned that GEA believes that the growth and development of the economy rest on the shoulders of SMEs adding that it wass against this background that GEA sought for funding from DANIDA under the Business Sector Programme Support to the build capacity of small business association under CIBA in Central, Western, and Eastern Regions to build their capacity.

The project manager indicated that the second phase of the project will concentrate on Ashanti, Volta and Greater Accra Regions. He pointed out that the growth of small businesses depends on how well they will understand the fundamentals underlying business development and called on all members of the small business associations present to take opportunity to learn new ideas to improve their businesses.

Speaking at the workshop, the Deputy Volta Regional Minister, Hon Col. Cyril Necku (Rtd) stressed the significant role that small business plays in the country’s economy. He noted that the sector contributes to the development of the countries labour force through the provision of ‘hands on’ training facilities for people of varying levels of education in both managerial and technical skills.

Hon. Necku commended the Ghana Employers’ Association for organising the workshop and also DANIDA for sponsoring the Programme.

Source: ISD (Jennifer Adjei, Ho)