Alan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industries
The National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) is undergoing strategic and organisational restructuring to position itself as a national Enterprise Development Authority (EDA).
Under the restructuring exercise, the Business Advisory Centres (BACs) of NBSSI are being transformed into Business Resource Centres (BRC) to offer dynamic, relevant support and strategic services to Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).
Mr Alan Kyeremanten, Minister of Trade and Industries, who announced this said the BRCs were being established as vibrant one-stop-shop business development and investment hub and information repositories, which would provide a full range of business development services to existing potential entrepreneurs and diverse business organisations.
He was speaking at a ceremony to hand-over vehicles to 37 BRCs which had been established across the country, in Kumasi.
The vehicles which were made up of 31 Nissan and 17 Toyota double cabin pick-ups, were procured under the Rural Enterprise Programme (REP) at the cost of $ 1.7 million and was financed by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Mr Kyeremanten, said the setting up of the BRCs across the country was to enhance agriculture production and productivity, value addition to the country’s raw materials as well as provide advisory services to SMEs, particularly in peri-urban and rural communities.
He said the government’s industrial transformation plan, was aimed at transforming the industrial sector of Ghana and making the country as a manufacturing hub and expand opportunities for job creation and decent work critical in creating prosperity and equal opportunities for all Ghanaians.
Mr Kyeremanten urged the beneficiary districts to use the vehicles for its intended purposes. Mr Simon Osei Mensah, Ashanti Regional Minister said rural business centres were significant in helping to develop rural industries to promote development in those areas.
Mr Akwasi Atta Antwi, Executive Director of REP said the provision of the vehicles marked the active operationalisation of the 37 existing BRCs in the country and urged the management of NBSSI to provide leadership to ensure that the vehicles were put to good use to achieve their intended purposes.
Mrs Kosi Aryee, Executive Director of NBSSI said the new relationship between NBSSI and REP would help to create enormous opportunity to strengthen rural enterprises in Ghana.
