Nana Osei Bonsu, Chief Executive Officer of the Private Enterprise Federation (PEF), has called on small and medium scale enterprises as well as the bigger companies to have good succession plan.

He said many businesses in Ghana had “died” with their original owners because they failed to put in place good structures that would ensure the survival of their businesses even after they die.

Nana Bonsu was speaking at a forum organised by the PEF on the State of the Private Sector in Ghana at Takoradi.

The Forum, sponsored by the Konrad Adeneur Stiftung, a German donor agency, brought together a spectrum of business men and women to deliberate on ways of improving their businesses through the creation of the needed environment for economic growth.

Nana Bonsu indicated that it was only unplanned and one man governed and controlled institutions that phase out with the absence of the “controller” and entreated Ghanaian businesses to operate open and transparent systems.

He attributed some business failures to bad succession plan, wrong internal structures and governance, bad record or book keeping and “eating into the coffers” of the business’ account among others.

Ms Yvonne Owusu-Adjapong of the Standard Chartered Bank, who educated participants on Small and Medium Enterprises in Ghana, said Ghanaian banks were interested in businesses that had track record of financial discipline, openness and trustworthiness.

Mr Stephen Asimeng, Chairman of Jacana Partners Limited, who spoke on “Availability and Access to Financial Products other than Credit” said there were other alternative funds for growing businesses in Ghana and urged them to search and apply for such funds.

He said others such as Venture Capital or Equity funds were available adding, “it takes only good business plans to access such funds”.