Kosi Yankey-Ayeh
CHIEF EXECUTIVE Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, has called on stakeholders in the micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs), to collaborate with the GEA to address the challenges facing them to achieve a vibrant and sustainable sector.
She said that despite the contribution of the MSME sector towards the development of the country, the sector was still faced with several challenges.
That, she noted, included the “lack of comprehensive data base on MSME’s, inadequate access to credit, inadequate access to technology, and inadequate access to the market, regulatory and legal constraints amongst others.”
She said “to achieve a vibrant and sustainable MSME sector, these issues need to be addressed. “We wish to encourage stakeholders gathered here to collaborate with GEA to conduct further research into specific issues of concern that will require specific initiatives to address them.”
She said this during information sharing at a workshop to discuss the findings of a baseline study on MSMEs in Ghana last Thursday in Accra.
The study, undertaken nationwide by the GEA, under the GES/Master card Foundation Africa Works project with the Palladium Group, was aimed at collecting background information essential to determine the requirement for a policy intervention for MSMEs.
Mrs. Yankey-Ayeh continued that the study would also trigger many more studies which would help government and MSME stakeholders to appreciate the challenges confronting the sector and guide the design of intervention to address them.
“The sector has the potential to increase employment and income as well as reduce poverty in both urban and rural areas. For the sector to thrive, the playing field must be leveled in terms of policies and strategies that will help it achieve its full potential,” she added.
Chief Director of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Patrick Nimo, for his part, said the baseline study was timely in supporting the GEA carve a pivotal role in implementing the National MSME Entrepreneurship Policy which was enacted in 2019.
BY Ebenezer K. Amponsah