Women firms dominate Progressive Licensing Scheme
More women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) have taken advantage of a deliberate national products licensing regime designed to help small businesses to formalise their operations than their male counterparts.
Dubbed, Progressive Licensing Scheme, the initiative is expected to help MSMEs in the local sector to get one of their products licensed by the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA) at a subsidised cost or no cost at all.
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As a result, 561 MSMEs have so far submitted their products for certifications as part of a special arrangement. Of the total, 470 MSMEs were women-owned businesses while the rest were men-owned firms.
The FDA certification is to provide the required regulatory backing for the products in both the local and export markets.
Beneficiaries
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, in an interview with the Daily Graphic on May 12 in Accra, observed that about 285 MSMEs who submitted their products for certification had already been done.
Out of the number, she said 230 of the beneficiaries were women-owned firms while the rest fall under the men-owned category.
The beneficiaries are businesses into agro-processing, food and beverages, manufacturing (cosmetics and household chemicals) and pharmaceuticals.
The project is designed in partnership with the GEA and funded by the Mastercard Foundation under the Young Africa Works Project.
The project
Mrs Yankey-Ayeh noted that the project was aimed at helping more than 600 MSMEs to get certification from regulatory organisations.
“In view of this, GEA in collaboration with FDA introduced the Progressive Licensing Scheme to help MSMEs in the local sector get one of their products licensed at a reduced cost or no cost at all.
“The scheme is in three stages which are pink, yellow and green respectively for an MSME to secure a license.
“This project is being funded by the Mastercard Foundation under the Young Africa Works Project,” she said.
Need to improve products
According to her, the need to improve the activities or products of micro small and medium enterprises has come to the front burner.
Partly deriving from the presence of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement, she said GEA and its partners want to position MSMEs and their products to be able to compete with products from other African countries.
Public assurance
The CEO stated that the Food and Drugs Authority certification was needed to give the public an assurance that the products were of good quality and meets approved standards.
“Once this standardisation or formalisation is completed, the positive externalities are numerous. The product assumes the required credibility to be displayed in short.
“The producer can now confidently display and sell to a wider market. And, I am convinced that this is what the industry wants. We have exceeded a target of 500 for the first year.
“In the coming years, we are going to make it a cardinal duty of the GEA. Currently, we have a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Progressive Licensing with the FDA. We will look at enhancing it and create a more conducive registration and formalisation regime for MSMEs in Ghana,” she added.