Poor packaging is a barrier in attracting partnerships

Accra, June 22, GNA - The inability of most Ghanaian small-scale and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to attractively package themselves for partnership opportunities has remained a major drawback to competitiveness on the global market, Mr Felix Quansar, an International Technology Planner, said on Thursday.

Speaking at a workshop on empowering local enterprises, Mr Quansar said while it was widely acknowledged that business partnerships offered a shortcut to technology accumulation and enhanced enterprise performance; Ghanaian SMEs were unable to exploit the associated advantages because of internal structures that made it difficult for them to respond to performance challenges.

The workshop organized by the AFRASIA Business Council explored ways to promote sustainable partnership and global competition through Africa-Asia linkages.

Mr Quansar said for Ghanaian entrepreneurs to attract partnership opportunities, they must demonstrate a good grasp of current market trends as well as industry specific knowledge.

Besides, they must bring to the partnership the requisite skills and capital as well as good managerial acumen and capability to develop simple business plan.

He said a major cause for failure of partnerships was that the parties did not have shared visions of what they exactly wanted and others put the money to be made from the deal at the expense of performance.

Mr Peter Quartey, Research Fellow, Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, said Asia offered potential opportunities for Ghanaian entrepreneurs to explore.

However, he said, there was the need for conditions to promote Ghana's exports to Asia and also improve the country's import capacity from the Region.

Mr Quartey said any partnership that was evolved must be based on mutually beneficial terms to encourage technology transfer in agriculture and road construction.

Opening the workshop, Mr Kwadwo Affram Asiedu, Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, said the contributions of the country's SME Sector could be enhanced through linkages with countries in Asia.

He said SMEs constituted the vehicle through which economic growth could be accelerated with the attendant virtues of poverty reduction.

Mr Daouda Toure, UN Resident Coordinator, said the AFRASIA Business Council (AABC) would complement other initiatives by the UNDP to promote private sector development.

The AABC was initiated in 2003 by UNDP in efforts to promote the Millennium Development Goals, especially the one relating to promoting global partnerships in support of development.