UNDP outdoors SMEs support programme

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in collaboration with the World Trade Centre, Accra has outdoored the African Management Services Company (AMSCO), aimed at assisting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to grow.

AMSCO which administers the African Training and Management Services (ATMS) project is a pioneer of capacity and skills development within the African SME sector.

Speaking during a presentation on AMSCO and ATMs in Accra, Mr Mohammed Ky, West and Central Africa Regional Manager for AMSCO, said the ATMs of AMSCO was primarily aimed at assisting SMEs in Africa to compete at the global level.

He said AMSCO delivered four human capital development services to clients, including recruiting services for middle to senior management individuals who are industry experts to be placed in various companies and providing technical assistance programmes for various SME partners.

The rest were the provision of capacity building development programmes aimed at conducting training needs assessments for clients as well as management placement programme, which involves sourcing and placing international experts at African companies for a period of three to five years to improve their operational and financial efficiency.

He said AMSCO choose its clients carefully as it seeks to partner SMEs and large companies that have impressive and proven business track records as well as with start-ups since it is not a grant giving organisation in its self.

He said the International Finance Corporation is the executing agency of AMSCO’s ATMs Project while the African Development Bank has been chosen as the regional cooperating agency.

My Ky said the AMSCO’s ATMS is funded by a number of committed bilateral and multilateral donors which have gone to AMSCO’s clients companies to help cover the costs of management and training services provided by AMSCO.

He said AMSCO, through its human and intellectual capital, is committed to help businesses on the African continent to take full advantage of the opportunities open to them.

“AMSCO’s mandate is to help African enterprises to become globally competitive, profitable and sustainable by providing human capital and skill development services to… African businesses, particularly SMEs”, he added.

He said the ATMS project has helped to reduce poverty, improve accountability and capacity development in Africa as well as helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.

Mr Ky noted that companies which wanted to partner with AMSCO must be able to fulfill a number of criteria which are available upon a request.

He said AMSCO is available in 22 countries across African with the exception of Northern Africa.

Mr Emmanuel Doni-Kwame, Managing Director, World Trade Centre, Accra, expressed his outfit’s readiness to collaborate with AMSCO to help SMEs in the country to thrive.

Mr John Addo Kufuor, Chief Executive Officer, African Regent Hotel, expressed appreciation to AMSCO for the advice and assistance the company gave him when he established his hotel about 10 years ago.

He said the assistance from AMSCO helped African Regent Hotel, which is a wholly owned Ghanaian hotel, to compete based on international standards.