By Stanley Senya
Accra, Sept. 30, GNA – Mobile Money Financial Limited (MMFL) has trained members of the Ghana Hairdressers and Beauticians Association (GHABA) in financial literacy, customer service and digital business tools as part of efforts to strengthen the capacity of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
The capacity-building programme, held in Accra, formed part of a three-city initiative by MMFL aimed at equipping women-led MSMEs with practical skills to improve their business operations, access financial services and adopt digital tools.
Speaking on the sidelines of the programme, Mr Charles Osei Owusu, Senior Manager, Business Development at Mobile Money Fintech Limited, said the initiative was designed to leave participating businesses better equipped to manage and grow their enterprises.
He said the training focused on customer service experience, financial literacy, and the use of digital tools, while also exposing participants to opportunities to access financial facilities through the mobile money channel.
“This is the last of the three. We started the first in Kumasi, subsequently we had the second in Takoradi, and now we are in Accra,” he said.
Mr Osei Owusu said the first programme targeted members of the Ghana Tailors and Dressmakers Association, while the second and subsequent engagements also reached market women and other MSME groups.
He said the focus on GHABA was deliberate because hairdressers and beauticians constituted an important segment of the country’s MSME sector, with many women relying on the businesses for their livelihoods.
“MSMEs, especially the women groups, are a key backbone to the economy. By targeting and empowering them, we believe that if there is growth within their space, we will see good in all the other sectors within the ecosystem,” he said.
He explained that MMFL, as part of the partnership, led the customer experience component, UMB provided the financial literacy training, while Colour Market focused on digital training tools.
Beyond the training, he said participants were provided with souvenirs and support resources, while their details were taken to enable MMFL and its partners to maintain engagement and monitor the impact of the programme.
Mr Osei Owusu said the initiative would not end with the training, as the company intended to continue engaging participants and identify more MSMEs that could benefit from similar programmes.
“We do not expect that we leave here and just leave them to chance. We will continue to engage them, monitor and interact with them. Hopefully, it should not end here,” he said.
He added that similar activities were also being undertaken in northern Ghana in partnership with other groups, indicating that the capacity-building efforts would continue beyond the three-city programme.
He said MMFL remained committed to collaborating with other organisations to provide MSMEs with the skills and resources needed to improve their businesses and contribute to economic growth.
GNA
Edited by Linda Asante Agyei