Wa: 90 Percent of Registered Busineses are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises - NEIP

The National Entrepreneurship and Innovation Plan have opened training for the Business Plan Competition in the Upper West Region on Tuesday 10^th January, 2018.

NEIP was launched in December, 2017 with the mandated to develop sustainable new businesses across Ghana to address barriers of growth face by existing Small And Medium Enterprises with the provision of business and financial support through the Business Plan Competition. 
 

Delivering a keynote address on behalf of the Upper West Regional Minister, the Upper West Regional Coordinating Director, Alhaji Abdulai Abubakar has observed that creating meaningful jobs and employment through investing in agriculture and efficient extraction of natural resources for rapid industrialization is critical for a Ghana without aid. 

The Minister noted that statistics from the Registrar General’s Department suggested that about 90 percent of companies registered in Ghana are micro, small and medium enterprises.

He said SMEs provide about 85 percent of manufacturing employment and contribute about 70 percent to Ghana’s Gross Domestic Product adding that SMEs are a force to reckon with in any national development drive because they have greater impact on economic growth, income and employment.

According to the minister, development experts have the view that the growth of an economy is in question if it cannot create jobs for its people.

In view of this, he said there was the need for investment to go beyond public sector to include private sector. 

Alhaji Sulemani highlighted that investing in the private sector helps in broadening economic opportunities that will lead to the transformation of the country’s economy saying that the private sector complements government effort at creating real jobs and enhancing livelihood.

Delivering a speech on behalf of the Minister for Business development, Director of Programmes at the Ministry, Yakubu Yussif mentioned the role of SMEs in economic development alluding to a 2015 World Bank Report that indicated that the formal SME sector alone contributes over 60 percent of the total employment and up to 40 percent of GDP in emerging economies.

He observed that SMEs alone contribute a larger part of labor force compared to the micro and larger Blue-Chip Enterprises making it an important driver in nation’s growth and developmental agenda.

Ibbrahim Mohammed Lawal however regretted that despite the immense contribution that the SME sector makes to the development of the country, many SMEs are faced with numerous challenges of which access to capital is crucial.

As part of the first phase of the NEIP initiative, the Minister disclosed that 700 applicants for the NEIP Business Plan Competition have been trained in Accra in December, 2017, 450 in Northern Region on 8^th January and Ashanti, Brong Ahafo and Upper West Regions took their respective turns on 10^th January, 2018 with Upper East Region coming on board on 12^th January, 2018.  

He explained that the SMEs will be assisted based on a 4 tier Support Ecosystem including advisory services, access to seed capital, access to market and the provision of Conducive Ecosystem.  

According Ibrahim Mohammed Awal there anticipated that all applicants will take advantage of the tanning and utilize all tools, knowledge and services available to expand their businesses to meet world standards and increase the employment rate in Ghana.