Kosi Yankey-Ayeh
The Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA), formerly the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), and the Mastercard Foundation have introduced a new retail shop and an online marketplace for micro small medium scale enterprises (MSME).
This is to promote their products and connect with customers globally.
The initiative was in line with the MSME Business Acceleration (MBA) component of the Young Africa Work initiative which sought to fast track the growth and productivity of MSME in Ghana by addressing challenges relating to networking, access to market and finance.
Themed “Made in Ghana Concept Shop”, the initiative is targeting MSMEs with unique product offerings, Ghanaian-owned/led businesses, women-owned/led businesses, businesses with a minimum of five employees and startups owned by women.
GEA in a statement released on Thursday, announced its partnership with Lokko House Limited, a Ghanaian enterprise that promotes urban art, fashion and creative culture, as a lead partner to mainly support women entrepreneurs with brand building, business promotion and access to new markets.
MSMEs who applied for the initiative would also benefit from capacity building programmes in branding and digital marketing to increase their revenue earnings, while unlocking sustainable job opportunities for Ghanaian youth.
The Chief Executive Officer of GEA, Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, emphasized the need for developing more initiatives that would allow women entrepreneurs to scale their businesses and to access new markets.
“We are aware that the empowerment of women and their businesses tend to have a strong multiplier effect on the wider community. That is why we are launching this initiative to help open new market opportunities and increase revenues for MSMEs that are owned and led by women,” she said.
Mastercard Foundation’s Regional Director for West, Central and Northern Africa, Nathalie Akon Gabala, for her part, said, “With the right support, digitization, and access to new markets, women-owned and led MSMEs have the potential to lead the economic recovery effort in Ghana and create better futures for their families and communities.”
The Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA)/Mastercard Foundation Young Africa Works Project is an entrepreneurship development and employment program targeted at young people, particularly young women, in Ghana. It falls under the Youth Entrepreneurship and Employment Program (YEEP) of GEA and anticipated to create employment and income-generation opportunities for 39,000 young men and women in Ghana.
By Issah Mohammed