By Florence Afriyie Mensah
Kumasi, Oct. 13, GNA – Hairdressers and beauticians have been urged to embrace digital technologies to help transform their work, improve productivity, enhance market access and increase incomes.
They must also position themselves to take full advantage of the increasing digital solutions in the country to grow and expand their businesses.
Ms. Francisca Oteng Mensah, Deputy Minister Designate for Gender, Children and Social Protection, made the call at the 50th anniversary celebrations of the Ghana Hairdressers and Beauticians Association (GHABA) in Kumasi.
The anniversary is being held on the theme: “Accelerating the Adoption of Digital Solution in Hair and Beauty Industry; the Role of GHABA.”
Ms Oteng Mensah said digital technology, which was currently permeating all sectors of work, including the informal enterprises, was helping to increase revenue, reduce cost and provide access to opportunities.
It was, therefore, important for beauticians and hairdressers to take advantage of the Government’s strategy to formalize the informal sector through digitization for enhanced productivity and incomes.
She said government would continue to mainstream interventions to promote the adoption of digital solutions along businesses in the informal sector, adding that, the introduction of the Digital Financial Services (DFS) was part of efforts to address some of the issues in the informal sector of the economy.
Ms Oteng Mensah pointed out that, by 2023 about 85 per cent of people would have access to business and financial accounts through the DFS system.
This would help put Ghana, which was the first nation in Africa to pioneer the DFS policy, in a unique position to use the technology as a tool for improving women’s access to financial services.
She said the adoption of digital solutions by the informal sector would help promote businesses and the national economy by leveraging on the universal quick response (QR) code to expand the usage of merchant payment at supply and demand levels.
Ms. Oteng Mensah said the introduction of the Mobile Money interoperability through a shared platform would also help increase efficiency for hairdressers and beauticians and improve the customer experience.
She said the hairdressing and beauty industry, which was a skilled fashionable and modern occupation, had the potential to address the current unemployment situation in the country.
She called on industry players to make use of new branding strategies and marketing techniques to beef up operations and expand to enter the international markets.
Mr. Morgan Ayawine, General Secretary of Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union (ICU) of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (TUC), urged the Association to adopt digitalization by training and retraining its members in digital technology to enable them to become acquainted with the processes to accelerate the pace of digital solutions.
He encouraged GHABA to remain focused on its vision to set up a cosmetology academy to enable members to realize their full potential.
Mr Ayawine called on the Government and other stakeholders to support the Association in its efforts to establish the academy.
Ms. Tina Offei Yirenkyi, National President of GHABA, said members would continue to upgrade themselves and adopt modern technologies in their operations to strengthen professional output.
GNA