The MTN has invested more than GH¢1million this
year to promote Small and Medium Entreprises (SMEs) through its support
programme aimed to boost the needed innovation and expansion.
Speaking at an MTN support programme for SMEs in the Volta
Region in Ho on Tuesday, the Chief Corporate Services and Sustainability
Officer (CCSSO) of MTN, Ms Adwoa Wiafe, announced that out of 150 businesses
selected from the Volta, Central, Eastern and the Greater Accra Regions, the
Volta Region alone had 52 SMEs which would be supported.
Ms Wiafe explained that the 52 business selected from the
Volta Region included 13 youths, 20 women and 19 differently abled Entreprises,
and would be given a seed capital ranging from GH¢10, 000 to GH¢20,000 to boost
their activities.
She said available statistics from the Ghana Statistical
Service (GSS) showed that SMEs accounted for about 70 per cent of the county’s
industrial sector output, therefore MTN in collaboration with Innohub
Foundation decided to invest in these businesses, which were crucial to the
rapid national economic growth.
She further noted that the programme since its inception in
2022, had supported 140 businesses in Ashanti, Greater Accra, and the Western
Regions.
According to her, the beneficiaries would trained in such
areas as book keeping, cost and pricing, branding, sales and marketing,
financial literacy, digital marketing and customer services, among others,
which he stressed was tailored to meet the specific needs of the beneficiaries.
Moreover, Ms Wiafe therefore urged the beneficiaries to work
hard to make their businesses to thrive by providing quality services as well
as adhere to clean environmental practices, adding that many of the SMEs were
providing food to the public, hence the need to promote healthy food
preparation.
The Executive Director of Innohub Foundation, Mr King David,
said he was satisfied with the collaboration between his outfit and MTN for the
impact driven initiative aimed at empowering SMEs across the country, saying
the collaboration showed their shared commitment to fostering entrepreneurship
and enabling SMEs to thrive, creat jobs, and build sustainable future.
He said since the implementation of the programme a year
ago, 100 entrepreneurs were trained in target business support and mentorship,
through direct funding from MTN, exceeding GH¢1,000,000 and businesses were
given critical boost needed for innovation and expansions.
The Executive Director of Innohub added that the improved
businesses reported from first year of the programme had an improved revenue
from GH¢7,631, 441.00 in 2022 to GH¢11,514, 543.00 in 2023, which indicated
that business operators grown their businesses from 631 to 722, and were able
to raise more funding than before, increasing from GH¢294.70 in 2022 to
GH¢359,069.30 in 2023.
FROM SAMUEL AGBEWODE, HO