Entrepreneurs urged to improve product quality & packaging

Takoradi (W/R), Oct. 15, GNA - Mr Gordon Asare-Kyeremanteng, Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Help Desk Advisor, has called on Ghanaian entrepreneurs to improve upon the quality and packing of their products so as to compete favourably on the United States Market under the AGOA Legislation.

He was opening a day's seminar on AGOA, organized by the American Chamber of Commerce (Ghana) for business executives in the Sekondi-Takoradi metropolis at Takoradi on Tuesday. Mr Asare-Kyeremanteng noted that the quality and packaging of products by many African countries were of poor quality and looked unattractive.

As a result, he said such products became unattractive to the U. S. Markets.

To arrest the situation, Mr Asare-Kyeremanteng advised Ghanaian entrepreneurs to adopt modern technology transfer and partnership with other businessmen.

He stressed the urgent need for Ghanaian enterprises to team up and pool their resources together to facilitate the effective promotion of their businesses to international standards.

Mr Asare-Kyeremanteng observed that many Ghanaian enterprises existed only in name because their financial base was so fragile that they could not stand effectively on their own.

AGOA is a component of the U.S Trade and Development Act 2000 which was designed to assist Sub-Saharan African countries to develop and prosper through trade with the U S.

Mr Asare-Kyeremanteng said Ghana was among 38 sub-Saharan African countries eligible to participate in the AGOA.

He said under a scheme called The Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), the U.S granted least developed countries preferential tariff concessions for approximately 4,600 trade items.

These items, Mr. Asare-Kyeremanteng said, had been grouped into three categories, consisting agricultural products, manufactured products and handicrafts.