Ghana hosts second SMEs summit
A three-day business summit that focuses on small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) will open in Accra from November 5 to 7, 2015. The three-day Vodafone African SMEs Summit will lead discussions to challenge African and Ghanaian SME executives to dream big and grow their businesses into global giants.
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The summit will also look at the environmental constraints to SMEs and businesses in general and make recommendations to policy makers on how to improve the ease of doing business.
Driven by its passion to empower SMEs in Ghana, the enterprise arm of Vodafone Ghana, Vodafone Business Solutions (VBS), is partnering the organisers, Creative Trends, as the headline sponsor of the second edition of the summit, with the theme: ‘Dreaming Africa’.
The event, expected to attract about 250 business owners, government officials and students from Ghana and about 15 countries in Africa, will offer a platform for SMEs to learn from major industry players and also understand business growth essentials.
According to the organisers, the summit will also provide networking and mentoring opportunities for SME owners and assist them to showcase their products.
Engines for economic growth
Commenting on the summit’s packages, the Head of Vodafone Business Solutions, Ms Angela Mensah-Poku, said “SMEs are the main engines for economic growth and development globally, and they account for the highest number of registered companies in every economy,” adding that they were therefore important players for national development but faced a number challenges that affected their growth and productivity.
“This seminar has been designed to empower and offer SMEs with essential business knowledge and suitable telecommunications solutions that will increase their productivity, drive efficiency and increase growth’’.
She added that VBS was SME-centric and continued to develop products and services which were beneficial to that segment of businesses. These include the ‘Red Business’ package aimed at empowering small businesses to become ‘a ready business’.
The summit presents over 20 speakers from high-end businesses, including Mr Haris Broumidis, the Chief Executive Officer of the three-time CIMG Telecoms Company of the Year, Vodafone Ghana; Mr Edward Boateng, CEO of Global Media Alliance, and Professor Atuahene Gyimah, a Professor of innovation and founder of Nobel International Business School.
Other partners of the SME Summit include the HFC Bank, Guinness Ghana Limited, China Europe International Business School (CEIBS), Graphic Business and Joy FM.