IoD rolls out SME Business Sustainability Programme in June

Effective June this year, the Institute of Directors-Ghana (IoD-Gh) will roll out its flagship project for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) to cushion viable but weak enterprises in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Dubbed: IOD-GH SME Business Sustainability Programme (BSP), this is a business model designed to equip business operators to acquire the needed skill to sustain the business as well as being geared towards succession planning which is aimed at enabling SMEs to survive beyond their first generation ownership and management.

This has become necessary since various industrial assessments indicate that majority of small businesses in the country lack the requisite skill to sustain them and as such fail to survive beyond their first generation largely due to poor corporate governance practices.

Largely, the project will not only serve as a mechanism to enable small business entities to survive beyond their first generation and sustain them; it is also expected to enable the private sector to take optimal advantage of the opportunities that present itself in the business ecosystem, most especially, the yet to be implemented Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) which hangs in a balance due to the continuous spread of the novel Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19).

The objectives of the project include but are not limited to providing a structured approach towards SME development through mentoring; and training of SMEs in Corporate Governance and Management among others.

Besides this, in an atmosphere of anxiety and uncertainties that are grappling a number of businesses and threatening lay-offs and shutdowns due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, IoD-Ghana is also organizing targeted training for SMEs to develop resilient business models in the face of the pandemic.

The move is expected to ensure that people’s livelihoods are not adversely affected by the impact of COVID-19.

Speaking with the Goldstreet Business, President of IoD Ghana, Mr. Rockson Dogbegah said the training would commence in two weeks.

“SMEs need to be supported in various fronts in terms of managing risk associated with their business”, he said.

In a release copied to the Goldstreet Business yesterday, it noted that these steps are part of interventions to enable the business community appreciate the negative socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Accompanying these measures, the Institute is also developing an on-line platform to enhance the capacity of its members to use virtual media to carry out businesses to mitigating the negative impacts and effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It will also involve academia, faculty and students to conduct research on the long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on businesses, enterprises, organizations among others.

The Institute will also “support and complementing efforts of Government, including mobilizing donations to resource the COVID-19 Trust Fund”, the statement added.