Germany trains 74 SMEs for improved performance
About 74 small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the country have benefited from a training programme meant to improve on their competitiveness, including workplace practices.
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The training programme enhanced the capacity of the participating SMEs under an initiative dubbed: “Sustaining competitive and responsible enterprises (SCORE)”.
The initiative which began in August last year was to increase SMEs’ productivity and resource efficiency, thereby creating jobs and improving working conditions.
The SCORE training was implemented by the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a sub-vented agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), with support from the German Development Agency (GIZ).
It is under a framework of the special initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition".
Paradigm shift
The Team Leader of Invest for Jobs, John Duti, at the graduation ceremony in Accra, stated that there was a clear paradigm shift towards environmental sustainability, green economy, growth, and jobs.
He said the green agenda was heavily embedded in the core message of the SCORE programme by improving productivity through resource efficiency and cleaner production.
“We are, therefore, excited about this strong partnership with the MDPI and the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to achieve these objectives,” he said.
Mr Duti further expressed his expectations of the SMEs to leverage the knowledge received to boost their productivity and contribute significantly to the growth of the country as they serve as the backbone of Ghana’s economy.
“I expect that this programme will have a long-lasting impact on your productivity, and very soon, we will count several jobs created and improvements in the livelihoods of your employees,” he said.
Global programme
The Deputy Director-General of the MDPI, Bernice Adjei, said SCORE was a global programme that seeks to improve workplace organisation, cooperation, and safety in SMEs and promotes resource efficient and cleaner production.
She said the training combines practical classroom sessions with in-factory consulting and demonstrates the best international practices in the manufacturing and service sectors.
According to her, this ultimately leads to the growth of enterprises, job creation and economic development.
She said in 2021, GIZ Ghana, under the Invest for Jobs programme, signed a first grant agreement with the MDPI to train 90 SMEs in the SCORE programme.
“This year’s project closure and certification ceremony celebrated the successful second cooperation project between MDPI and Invest for Jobs for the SCORE programme implementation, which trained 74 additional SMEs and extended the training measure to two new regions (Ashanti and Eastern),” she said.
SMEs reaction
The participating SMEs expressed their appreciation to the German government for the training programme and highlighted some of the impacts it has started to have on their businesses.
“I even transferred what I learned for my business to my personal life, and I see tremendous improvements," the Founder and Chief Executive of a cosmetic company, 360 Naturals, Diana Akwaboa Bosompem, said.
The context
SCORE is an ILO global programme which seeks to improve productivity and working conditions in SMEs through practical classroom sessions and in-factory consulting.
It demonstrates best international practices in the manufacturing and services sectors and helps SMEs participate in global supply chains.
Funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), Switzerland, and the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), SCORE was first introduced in Ghana in 2011.