By Stanley Senya
Accra, May 8, GNA -The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), is training business owners to strengthen businesses and build their capacity for robust economic development.
The training is to expose businesses, with a focus on small and medium-scale enterprises to expand their trade both locally and internationally.
Nana Agyenim Boateng, Chairman, GNCCI, said the Chamber was poised to build synergies among SMEs, enhance domestic trade and provide opportunities to share knowledge for exposure.
Nana Boateng was speaking at a workshop to discuss market trends and consumer behaviour for Ghanaian business leaders.
He said businesses were now dynamic, and their owners must also be dynamic by adopting the use of technology.
“We want to build the capacity of business owners so that they can blend and compete in the international market,” he added.
Mr Kwabena Agyekum, Registrar and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Chartered Institute of Marketing Ghana (CIMG) urged business owners to leverage market data and research to thrive in the country.
He said using data and research would help businesses to plan and develop market strategies to improve trade locally and internationally.
He said it would help businesses know their profit margins in four to five years, and to know inflation levels ahead and what products to make available for consumers.
He said when data was made available it would help inform businesses about economic indicators and sociocultural shifts.
He said businesses should have a strategic direction and market trends to ensure alignment with evolving market dynamics.
He called on business owners to rely on data to help draw statistics on future inflation to help with product pricing.
He urged them to be advert-friendly and strategic to allow consumers to trust and be loyal to their product, leverage technology and be research-focused to excel in the market.
He called on businesses to open and build case studies to provide data too, adding that, “other developed countries have data available on the internet which helps in determining market conditions.”
Mr Agyekum called on the government to also provide macro and micro data of businesses across the country for efficient access to market information.
This, he said, would allow foreign investment and allow more exports of goods and services.
He encouraged all business owners to prepare internal data and research on their own to remain relevant in the market.
The workshop would be carried out in other regions to also provide market insights for businesses.
GNA