Accra, Ghana//-MTN Ghana today launched the 2024 edition of MTN SME Month to drive and empower Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the country.
The move welcomed by owners of SMEs is expected to create a month-long awareness of issues impeding the growth of players in the country’s SME sector which employs about 80 per cent of the population in Ghana. The sector also accounts for some 60 per cent of the country’s GDP.
The SME month would also give MTN Ghana the unique opportunity to get closer to SMEs and expose them to its SME Solutions including SME Plus, and Business Manager.
Speaking at the launch in Accra, the Chief Enterprise Business Officer at MTN Ghana, Madam Angela Mensah Poku said: “The month of July is SME Month for us. Over the last few years, July has always been the annualise month that we celebrate, and we reach out to our SME customers”.
This year, we want to make sure that they are in focus as you heard they are the driver of the economy. But when you look at our SME sector, they turn to be more informal and so therefore as a technology company (techno), it was important that we understand our customers and bring digital solutions to them”.
She added: “Last year they gave us feedback and said it is not only solutions they need. They need support with capacity building and training. So, we got our partners to come on board and help us with it. They also said they needed access to insurance, financing, and networking. So therefore, this month, we have all these activities with our partners to drive and empower SMEs in the country”.
Madam Mensah Poku said one of the activities that the company is very excited about is in conjunction with Absa called “Our Women Roadshows”, emphasising that female businesses make up most informal businesses across the continent.
So, this is the opportunity to connect with their female entrepreneurs to train and give them skills to build and formalise their businesses and take them to the next level, she added.
“We are just one part of the bigger ecosystem. I am proud to launch today’s SME Month and we hope that you continue to drive this throughout the year. This isn’t just a monthly thing, we would continue every month with new products, new services, and new partnerships, and we are always here to get feedback from our SMEs and our customers on what we can do better. That is why the month of July is our SME Month”.
Given the SME month, several activities will take place at market centres in Accra and Kumasi, and all the towns across the 16 regions of the country. So, come and join us to drive and empower our SMEs in the country, Madam Mensah Poku urged.
Apart from these activities, the Senior Manager of SME Sales at MTN Ghana, Saddick Abubakari mentioned some of the key activities of the month including SME fairs which the company organises for SME players to come and exhibit their products during the fairs. Within the fairs, these SMEs are also able to network and share ideas with themselves, friends, and others.
The Greater Accra Regional Chairman of Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Tsonam Akpeloo said today’s ceremony highlighted the critical importance of SMEs in the country. Despite their significant contribution to Ghana’s economy, SMEs remain the vulnerable category of businesses which are easily affected by economic downturns.
So, the MTN SME Month would go a long way to drive and empower SME players in the country. To this end, AGI is commending MTN Ghana for this event, he said.
