By Stanley Senya
Accra, December 20, GNA – Mr. Kojo Oppong Nkrumah, Minister of Information, has urged Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to embrace technology for resilience and expansion as they strive to be globally competitive.
He said that innovation and ingenuity have become a necessity for all modern businesses that want to survive in a world characterized by competition, technological change and recurring crises.
He said this at the closing ceremony of a project titled “ACP Digi project in Ghana”, with the theme: “Our journey in building the digital capacity of MSMEs In Ghana Post COVID”.
Mr. Nkrumah said SMEs are part of the sub-sectors of business in Ghana, therefore priority should be given to SMEs for efficiency and sustainable development.
“We are pleased to note that SMEs have embraced the concept and are now using technology in their businesses and are beginning to adopt measures and strategies to cope with the new normal,” he added.
He called on everyone to use digital platforms to create avenues of purchase for their products, help increase sales and improve productivity.
He said that with increased demand and ready purchases through online activities, it is expected that businesses will be able to increase their production, attract the necessary capital to expand and upgrade the quality of their services to the acquired taste we are all used to.
Mr. Tsonam Akpeloo, Managing Director of Suku Technologies Limited, said digital innovation is a potential solution that could introduce efficiency into SMEs to strengthen them.
He said that in both developed and developing economies, MSMEs are seen as drivers of economic growth and have not only contributed to the growth of the national GDP but also to the reduction of unemployment.
He said the emergence of the coronavirus pandemic had reduced physical contact and forced many to resort to online work systems, reducing labor costs in some organizations while required outputs were still being met.
Talking about businesses adopting digital transformation, he said it will help business owners to use virtual solutions in their meetings, use e-commerce in terms of marketing activities and take advantage of online transactions while leveraging security systems to scale up their businesses.
Talking about the training, he said the participants were given tools, which allowed them to sell their products through online portals, payment apps and social media.
He said over 1,071 business owners benefited from the training, equipping them to be tec
Mr Akpeloo encouraged MSMEs to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement to enable them to trade in other African countries.
He called on stakeholders to invest in training young people in digital media technology so that they can create jobs for themselves and help improve the local economy.
GNA