The over-subscribed MTN Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) business clinic has ended in the Volta Regional capital, Ho, when the train stopped over to engage and sharpen the skills of young entrepreneurs.
The organisers, MTN and its partners SMEGA (SME GrowAfrica) and Ephesus Business School, believed the high patronage told a story of the zealousness of young entrepreneurs to succeed and become self-reliant and competitive, which might have contributed to the high numbers.
The organisers targeted about 160 participants but were confounded way above the 250 mark, with the venue, Stevens Hotel, in Ho, jostling for space to accommodate the young entrepreneurs.
Louisa Ago Anarfi, Manager, SME Sales (South), said the enthusiasm of young entrepreneurs in the region dovetailed directly into the reasons the SME Accelerate MTN Business initiative came into being to train and empower micro, small and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) across the country to offer future-ready solutions to SMEs.
She said SMEs were the backbone of the economy, and the clinic would elevate them to create, build and scale businesses to appreciable levels.
She disclosed four regions, including Ashanti and Northern, last year, benefited from the initiative with the addition of Volta and Eastern to this business clinic, this year.
Anarfi said MTN has rolled out some support to SMEs under its Adwumapa initiative, an industry first female-only bundle to cushion them in navigating the SME space with ease in addition to the tailor-made combo bundle for voice, data, SMS, and also an extra data bundle to access specific social media channels, as well as free calls on Mondays between 0800 to 1700 hours.
She highlighted that clients on the SME Adwumapa initiative benefit from an insurance scheme worth GHS8,000 for continuous subscriptions for three to six months, covering ill-health and fire disasters with added features of a doctor on call.
She said the SME Plus bundle for all businesses, which is available on *5060#. The yellow base, popularly called the Turbonet router, is a four-in-one internet solution to access data, and comes with a 10 gigabyte, urging SMEs to take advantage of it.
Maame Ama Simpson, Manager, Enterprise Segment and Product Development at MTN, explained that SME Accelerate builds on earlier projects like pop‑up shops, SME Awards, and market fairs.
She said Webinars featuring seasoned entrepreneurs have also been introduced to mentor and guide young business owners.
She acknowledged persistent challenges facing SMEs: limited access to markets, finance, digital tools, and advertising.
MTN, she said, is committed to providing seamless connectivity and platforms to help entrepreneurs overcome these barriers.
Mr Kwesi Ofori Jr, Executive Director of SMEGA (SME GrowAfrica), an entity focused on promoting the growth, innovation, and competitiveness of Small and Medium Enterprises and start-ups in Africa, stressed the need for restructuring SMEs to improve human resource management, financial reporting, and record‑keeping.
He revealed plans to link promising SMEs with mentors and funding opportunities, including partnerships with PUN in the Netherlands.
“Our goal is to help SMEs become globally competitive and transition from micro-enterprises to established businesses.
He believed restructuring the legion of SMEs would ensure economic growth, reduce the high unemployment rates, with eyes on sustainability and scalability.
Daniel Nii Otokunor Sackey, Managing Consultant, Ephesus Business School and Lead Trainer, whose institution specializes on tailor-made business development and professional training, disclosed that the failure rate of small-scale businesses in Ghana constituted 74 per cent at the end of 2020, with the continental rate not different from the national figure.
He believed committing to the regime of intensive training was a good starting point for a turnaround to attain stability.
He said mainstreaming financial prudence and leveraging technology could propel young SMEs into future-tailored outfits that are capable of rubbing shoulders with big institutions.
The young SME entrepreneurs were taken through hands-on training of financial record keeping and reporting, risk identification, deficiencies and controls, working capital management and evaluation, financial decision-making techniques and cost-benefit analysis, as well as basic risk identification and mitigation.
Some of the young entrepreneurs commended MTN and its partners for the opportunity, disclosing that the two-day training was an eye-opener, eventful, which had broadened their horizon to dream big and harness all opportunities available to them for breakthroughs.
