Business consultant urges MSMEs to promote eco-friendly practices

Business consultant and entrepreneur Maria Johana Yuorpor has urged micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to promote eco-friendly practices that would enhance environmental sustainability and the sustainability of their businesses.

She indicated that the environment from which the MSMEs source their raw materials needs to be protected to continue to provide the resources needed for the continuous running of the MSMEs.

"There's a need for businesses to focus on sustainability by promoting eco-friendly practices and committing themselves to new sustainable goals," she said.

She said this in an interview with Wa-based Info Radio on the occasion of the celebration of 2024 MSME Day under the theme, "Leveraging the Power and Resilience of MSMEs to Accelerate Sustainable Development and Eradicate Poverty in Times of Multiple Crises."

She also encouraged MSMEs to showcase their businesses to the public and tell their stories to inspire potential and emerging entrepreneurs and also bring positive attention to their businesses.

"It's also important for businesses to collect testimonials from customers to build their credibility and show the impact that they've created over the years," she added.

She explained that businesses, especially MSMEs in the Upper West Region, could hold community events to foster a sense of community and improve trust and patronage by the community they serve.

She said, "This could be in collaboration with each other, especially in the region, and this will bring together a sense of community where businesses in the Upper West Region can rely on each other to get some holdings to grow faster."

Johana Yuorpor, who is also the Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Northern Development Authority, encouraged MSMEs to advocate for effective and supportive policies to leverage the growth of their businesses.

She emphasized the need for owners of MSMEs to recognize and encourage the team members they work with, indicating that "as a business owner, the people you work with are your backbone. The people you source your raw materials from, if you are into production, the people who help you process, the people who help you sell—that's your core team; work with them as a team, and you would go far."

The Women Enterprises Coach observed that the significant role MSMEs play in reducing unemployment, eradicating poverty, and improving livelihoods could not be overemphasized and thus indicated that the theme for the 2024 MSME Day celebration was timely, adequate, and appropriate.

She stated that MSMEs form 90 percent of businesses in the world, 70 percent of employment, and 50 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of countries, according to the United Nations.

"MSMEs provide employment opportunities for the youth, women, and other marginalized people in various communities and countries, and Ghana is not an exception. MSMEs are essential for reducing unemployment, and therefore, they help with poverty alleviation and eradication," she said.

She added that MSMEs bring innovation and foster competition in the entrepreneurial space, creating an atmosphere of swift deployment of solutions to new challenges and opportunities that arise.

She noted that "MSMEs also help in local development. In a rural, local economy, they contribute to the deployment and utilization of local resources, generating income, and promoting social cohesion."

The World Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Day, founded by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of the tremendous contributions of enterprises to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is celebrated on June 27 every year.