Cape Coast, Oct. 7, GNA – The Hos-Glo Foundation, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has held training on bookkeeping and customer service for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Central Region to improve their operations.
The training organized by the Foundation, in collaboration with Journalists for Women and Rural Development in Africa, was aimed at educating participants on how effectively they could manage their businesses and make huge profits.
About 30 SMEs, engaged in tailoring, hairdressing, agribusiness, manufacturing and trading in the Region, participated in the training.
Mrs Shirley Asiedu-Addo, the Executive Director of Journalists for Women and Rural Development in Africa, in an interview, said the training was necessitated by the lack of managerial skills of many SME’s to boost their businesses.
“We realised that members in the small and medium enterprises had less knowledge in business management and records keeping,” she said.
She expressed the hope that the skills and techniques of the SMEs would be enhanced after the training, adding that it could help boost the local economy and increase the standard of living of the people.
Mr Ernest Ziekye, the Finance and Administration Manager of Business Resource Centre (BRC), who took the participants through bookkeeping, said recording all transactions of their businesses would help gauge performance, letting a small business know whether it was declining or growing.
Also, it ensures participants maintained a proper record of business for effective cash flow management.
Mr Daniel Opoku-Agyemang, Member of Client Officers of the Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), schooled participants on the benefits of savings with his outfits.
Mr Agyemnag said SSNIT had made significant contributions to the development of the country and urged the participants to take advantage of the benefits and save with them to enjoy during the times they could not work.
He disclosed that currently, the Trust was paying more than 1,000 invalid pensioners and stressed that one could imagine if they had not started contributing early to the Scheme.
He said that currently, the highest-paid pensioner received a monthly pension of about GH¢55,000 with the lowest getting about GH¢300.00.
Mr Baaba Saaed, the Regional Secretary of National Tailors and Dressmakers Association, who was part of the trainees, said most of the SMEs failed to record activities they undertook during business transactions, leading to loss of revenue.
He lauded the organisers for the training and said writing or keeping records of their activities would help them keep track of their transactions, particularly those who bought items on credit.
GNA