Second Ghana SME Expo opens in Accra

Mr. Paul Asinor, Events Director of OML Africa, on Thursday said Ghana needed serious business events if it indeed wants to develop the private sector as the engine of growth and develop like the Asian tigers.

He said fostering a dynamic small and medium enterprise sector was seen as a priority among economic development goals in both developed and emerging economies, adding that Small and Medium Enterprises (SME’s) represent the vast majority of businesses in Ghana.

Mr. Asinor made this observation at the opening of the Second Ghana SME Expo dubbed Business Sense 2012, on the theme, “Growing Sustainable Enterprises through finance and technology “on Thursday in Accra.

He said the three day event was one of the high quality corporate events by OML Africa as part of its mission to create a Ghana–based platform for small businesses within the country and beyond to meet, discuss and exchange ideas and best practices.

“This year’s event would build on our uniqueness in focusing on practical strategies to assist SME’s in Ghana succeed rather than dwelling slowly on motivational speaking which seems to be the norm at other similar events”.

He said the event would serve as a platform for over 30 registered companies to showcase their goods and services to a highly targeted audience in a professional environment, adding that it was also a unique opportunity for exhibitors to meet potential investors and have the opportunity to launch new products and services whilst building new sales lead.

“Business Sense would change the way SME’s do their business. New technologies lead to new ways of working, and new products and services that could be offered”, he added.

The second Ghana SME Expo was for anyone starting a business or expanding a business in Ghana, with a conference, exhibition, one-to-one advice and networking events. It is the perfect opportunity to find all the tools and information to start and develop a profitable and sustainable business in Ghana, he noted.

He added that the event had been crafted with the needs of the Small Business in mind, therefore issues of acquisition of capital and SME funding had been given priority with a special SME finance Day set aside for delegates to meet banks, venture capitals, local and foreign institutions.

Mr. Asinor said the event was also designed to strengthen SME’s and equip them with the necessary tools to stimulate growth and productivity, saying creating a strong and vibrant SME sector creates employment, supports larger enterprises and was the engine of economic growth.

He assured that Business Sense 2012 would continue to create a big platform and enhance values of all SME’s and entrepreneurs in a wide spectrum of industries to achieve its business objective.

Madam Hannah Tetteh, Minister of Trade and Industries, said SME’s formed the majority of the private sector of every country and so it was important for them to come together to form a powerful channel that would be very beneficial to the economy.

She noted that there were lots of tools available to SME’s to develop, and urged the National Board for Small Scale Industries to create a site where they could advertise their products for free and help them grow.

Madam Tetteh applauded the organisers of the programme and called on businesses to take advantage of the event, saying it would help SME’s know the opportunities available to them to learn more and develop.**