The Private Enterprise Federation (PEF) under the Ghana Institutional Support Project (GISP) being funded by the African development bank (AFDB) through the government of Ghana and the Ministry of Finance procured the services of the University of Ghana- Office of Research, Innovation and Development (ORID) to train business owners in various courses related to Business Start up and Growing an existing Business. The objective of the exercise was to develop the skills of these business owners to spot opportunities, develop products that respond to these opportunities and effectively market them for growth of their enterprises.
The world over, MSMEs face many challenges that impede on their growth which Ghana is no exception. These can broadly be grouped into non-financial and financial challenges. Even though many of them perceive their challenges to be financial, a careful review would normally reveal a number of non-financial causes which when addressed adequately tackle the root of the perceived financial issue.
Prominent amongst the challenges that they face is their ability to effectively plan and implement their growth aspirations. The growth of any business rides substantially on the back of product development and market access. MSMEs in general lack appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes in conceiving, planning and documenting their growth path taking into consideration product and market related issues which hamper their progress and development. It is therefore very important that the capacities of businesses are built so as to be able to implement their respective mandates.
PEF together with UG-ORID developed training modules for SME’s on numerous business-related courses including computer basics, business plan development, ICT, Accounting and Cash Flow, E-commerce, employee training & motivation, business innovations, opportunities and risks, feasibility analysis, strategic alignment plan, budget forecasting, operations management among others. The diverse nature of the MSMEs most of which are sole proprietors were very interactive and knowledgeable about their businesses in all the 10 regions
The Federation is currently developing the virtual versions of the training module which can be accessible on our website www.pef.org.gh.
