SMEs must add value to products to sustain businesses - Assin South DCE

Mr Derrick Owusu Ambrose, the District Chief Executive (DCE) for Assin South has urged Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to add value to their products to sustain their businesses.

They must be creative and adapt to changes in the environment they operate to succeed and compete favourably on the global scene.

That, he noted was key to withstand the stiff market competition and business dynamics to stimulate growth.

Mr Ambrose was speaking at a programme organised by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) with support from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JiCA) to strengthen the capacity of SMEs through the application of basic 'Kaizen model' of business management at Assin Darmang on Friday.

Kaizen is a Japanese philosophy that focuses on continual improvement in all aspects of production to ensure business growth.

The training focused on improving the knowledge and skills of SMEs to help promote best practices to fuel the growth of their businesses at a reduced cost.

It exposed business operators including; beauticians, artisans, processors heads of departments to best management practices, business idea generation, product development, packaging and branding.

Mr Ambrose noted that the market had become globalised and enterprises, therefore, had no choice but to uphold globally accepted standards.

'Those who do not refrain from the old way of doing things and accept the reality are bound to fail," he explained.

He also advised them to keep proper records to enable them to know their expenses and the right taxes to pay.

He said SMEs played a vital role in sustaining the country’s economy to achieve its development objectives through job creation and contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

"It is indisputable fact that SMEs play a very significant role in the nation’s economy, creating jobs and wealth for the population as exemplified by Government's determination to create a congenial business environment to businesses to thrive,” he said.

He reiterated the Assembly's resolve to collaborate with the NBSSI and partners to scale up public education for SMEs on good business practices to enable them grow and expand.

Mr Boakye Atta Kwasi, Head of the District Business Advisory Centre (BAC) urged the participants to accept the approach as the best way to increase productivity and maintain the quality of products with unrivalled services experience.

They must prioritise corporate governance to attract the needed funding to expand their businesses as a proper corporate governance structure will strengthen their operations and allow their businesses to grow in an efficient and effective manner.