By Albert Futukpor, GNA
Tamale, July 31, GNA – MTN Business has held its Small and Medium-size Enterprises (SMEs) Business Clinic in Tamale to equip entrepreneurs with digital, financial and business management skills to accelerate business growth and enhance their competitiveness.
Participants included SME owners engaged in various sectors including fashion and design, stationery, baking, ago processing amongst others.
The day’s event formed part of MTN Business’ year-long SME Accelerate initiative, designed to promote digital transformation, financial literacy, branding, packaging and access to business opportunities for enterprises across the country.
The SME Business Clinic, which was organised in four regions last year, had been extended to six regions this year with Tamale hosting the second edition.
Mr Abubakari Siddique Mohammed, the Senior Manager in-charge of SMEs and Partnerships, MTN Ghana, during the training, said SMEs remained the backbone of the country’s economy contributing significantly to national development through job creation and economic growth, hence the initiative.
He said the SME sector accounted for about 70 per cent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and provided nearly 85 per cent of employment, making it imperative to strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs to sustain and expand their businesses.
He said MTN Business had identified key challenges confronting SMEs including low levels of digital adoption, limited access to finance, and inadequate online visibility, which affected their growth.
Mr Mohammed explained that the SME Business Clinic was, therefore, designed to help entrepreneurs embrace digital technologies, improve their branding and packaging, strengthen financial management and bookkeeping and enhance their online presence to enable them to reach international markets.
He emphasised that “as SMEs grow, Ghana also grows” and gave assurance that the company was committed to providing practical support to players in the sector rather than merely identifying challenges facing the sector.
He said MTN Business was also connecting SMEs to funding opportunities through partnerships with financial institutions while providing digital tools and business solutions to improve operational efficiency.
He said since the introduction of the initiative, more than 1,000 entrepreneurs have benefited from the SME Business Clinic with an additional 1,500 SMEs expected to be trained this year.
He added that the company had introduced an executive business development programme in collaboration with a business school to strengthen the long-term leadership and management capabilities of selected SME owners.
He said 50 entrepreneurs completed the programme last year and this year’s intake had been increased to 90 participants comprising women-owned businesses, youth-led enterprises and other SMEs.
Mr Mohammed said the SME Growth Awards would be expanded this year to recognise and celebrate outstanding SMEs while increasing their visibility and exposing them to wider business opportunities.
He highlighted MTN Business’ dedicated support package for women entrepreneurs, which included affordable voice and data services, health consultation through telephone access to medical professionals and insurance protection for business assets against unforeseen incidents such as fire outbreaks.
Mr Mohammed urged entrepreneurs to adopt digital technologies to improve productivity and competitiveness, emphasising that businesses that failed to embrace digital transformation risked slower growth.
He advised them to practise proper financial management by separating personal and business finances, maintaining accurate records, and adopting transparent bookkeeping practices to ensure sustainable growth.
Some participants lauded the training saying it had exposed them to practical strategies for improving their businesses.
Ayishetu Tijani, the Chief Executive Officer, Kayla Cares, who was a participant, said the session on branding had helped participants appreciate the importance of understanding customer perceptions rather than relying solely on their own views about their brands.
She commended MTN Business and its partners for creating a platform that enabled entrepreneurs to network, share experiences, and learn from one another.
Mr Ignatius Saboglu, the owner of a stationery shop, who was also a participant, said the training had helped him to identify common business mistakes including the failure to recognise competitive advantages adding the practical lessons would help challenges confronting many SMEs.
GNA
Edited by Eric K Amoh / Christabel Addo
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