Accra, Ghana – In a major boost to Ghana’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the German government has earmarked £400,000 for the training of 270 enterprises across 10 regions in Ghana. This initiative falls under phase III of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme, set to commence next year.
According to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) , the funding for this initiative comes from the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) under the ‘Invest for Jobs’ initiative. The primary objective is to enhance productivity, resource efficiency, and working conditions in selected Ghanaian enterprises. The Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) will implement this nine-month programme, supervised by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
Mr. John Duti, the Team Leader of Invest for Jobs, emphasized the importance of environmental protection in enterprise operations during the launch. He stressed that economic growth should not come at the expense of the environment. He advocated for the adoption of green processes and technologies by SMEs to foster a green economy. “The Just Transition paradigm aims to balance green economic transformation with the promotion of decent employment, social inclusion, poverty eradication, and gender equality,” he explained, aligning this with the goals of the SCORE programme.
Previously in 2021, GIZ Ghana, under its ‘Invest for Jobs’ flagship programme, signed an agreement with the MDPI to train 60 SMEs using the SCORE methodology. This was followed by another agreement in August 2022 to train an additional 74 SMEs.
Madam Bernice Adjei, Director General of MDPI, highlighted the pivotal role of SMEs in Ghana’s economy and the need for more targeted interventions to boost their efficiency and productivity. She thanked the German government for its support and requested consideration for providing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), particularly for trainees in the northern part of Ghana, citing the need for better protection due to unfavourable working conditions.
The SCORE programme is a global initiative aimed at enhancing workplace organization, cooperation, safety, and promoting cleaner production in SMEs. It includes practical classroom sessions and in-factory consulting on best international practices, focusing on various aspects such as quality improvement, resource efficiency, workforce management, occupational safety, lean manufacturing, gender equality, responsible business, and more.
Launched in Ghana in 2011 and initially funded by the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), the programme’s rollout has been taken over by the German government since 2021. This training is expected to significantly contribute to the growth of manufacturing and service sectors in Ghana, leading to job creation and economic development.