Invest in quality of products – Entrepreneurs told

Source: Daily Graphic Ghana  - The Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Mr Lukman Abdul-Rahim, has asked Ghanaian entrepreneurs to invest heavily to improve the quality of their products to enable them access the global market.

At a workshop on food safety and quality management in Accra, Mr Abdul-Rahim said research conducted by the NBSSI had revealed that most small and medium enterprises (SMEs) had little or no exposure to product quality, improvement and standardisation.

As a result, he said Ghanaian products were unable to penetrate the global market and that continued to impede the growth of micro and small enterprises (MSEs) in the country.

“Most SMEs are ignorant of domestic and international standards and quality requirements and are, therefore, unable to meet same when they attempt to export their products. This weakness eventually limits their access to certain markets,” he said.

The two-day programme, organised by NBSSI with funding from the European Union (EU), was aimed at enhancing the knowledge base and skills of participants on food safety and quality management.

Participants were made up of personnel from NBSSI, including business advisors, project officers and business development officers, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) from the 10 regions of Ghana.

It was under the Trade Related Assistance and Quality Enabling (TRAQUE) programme.

The project was divided into two components: Capacity building on food safety and quality management and support to MSEs in quality upgrading.

On capacity building on food safety and quality management, about 199 participants would benefit.

Mr Abdul-Rahim observed that in order for SMEs to achieve product consistency, management of such entities must invest in their products, especially food, and engage the services of technocrats.

In an interview with the Daily Graphic, some of the participants said the workshop had offered them the platform to learn modern trends that would enable them to grow their businesses.

According to the Production Manager of Grace Foods, Mrs Jennifer Owusu Boateng, the programme had made her understand the structures needed to increase her company’s production.