<\/p>\n
The Citi Business Festival\u2019s forum on Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) discussed ways of resetting businesses after COVID-19.<\/p>\n
The forum saw Kosi Yankee, the Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprise Agency; Audrey Abakah, head of SME, agency and partnerships at Absa; the CEO of Busara-Africa, Taaka Awori and Richard Densu, the Senior Manager, Enterprise Customer Enablement & Solutions, MTN Business proffering solutions on how businesses could rebound after the pandemic.<\/p>\n
Taaka Awori outlined what she described as P.I.C. for MSMEs to focus on\u2013\u201cP\u201d for people, \u201cI\u201d for innovation and \u201cC\u201d for cash.<\/p>\n
She said these three things were related to how businesses could become more resilient.<\/p>\n
She stressed that recovery starts with a focus on the people in your organisation and ensuring they have the \u201cright type of skills to adjust in the market.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt might not necessarily mean expensive training. It might also mean the ability to move people in different functions.\u201d<\/p>\n
When innovating, one pathway to consider is leveraging partnerships and understanding one\u2019s limits.<\/p>\n
When considering cash, Taaka Awori urged businesses to diversify income streams and ensure savings for a rainy day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do I need to be putting aside as my business every month so that when my next crisis comes, we are ready to ride it out,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n
Audrey Abakah urged businesses to be mindful of regulations and banking relationships if they want credit support.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of them are not well-positioned at all,\u201d she said, noting that some businesses do not have bank accounts or registered businesses.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you really want a bank to support you, one of the easiest things you have to do is establish a relationship by opening an account with the bank and also registering your businesses,\u201d Audrey Abakah noted.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt this point in time, if an SME has not registered its business, honestly, I really don\u2019t know where you want to go with your business.<\/p>\n
Kosi Yankee stressed the importance of MSMEs continually learning new ways of doing things and understanding the way market tendencies have changed.<\/p>\n
\u201cBusinesses need to pay attention to what has changed in the world and what is important for people,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Taaka Awori also urged MSMEs to learn from similar shocks and be future-oriented to weather storms and take advantage of opportunities.<\/p>\n
She advised businesses to spend time researching and understanding one\u2019s MSME market.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem we find as MSMEs is that we are reactive,\u201d she said. \u201cAs an owner, your obligation is not only to pay attention to the immediate but also to have what they cal perceptual acuity,\u201d<\/p>\n
MSMEs were advised to digitise the way they buy, sell and manage business data.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have to start small. It doesn\u2019t have to be big. There are a lot of applications that have a free package. Start with the free package and then scale up,\u201d Richard Densu said.<\/p>\n
As an example, he noted that traditional ways of bookkeeping are \u201cno longer useful.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can bring efficiency into your business through Technology and make it easier to for them to assess your business for [loans]\u201d<\/p>\n
Kosi Yankee urged MSMEs to sponge off business development services (BDS) and business coaching.<\/p>\n
This coaching is key to ensuring the MSMEs do not remain stagnant.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important for us to transform the economy by providing support to these entrepreneurs and the MSMEs to watch them grow, if not they will stay where they are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She noted that her outfit was working to take BDS to the doorsteps of MSMEs with better decentralisation.<\/p>\n
The Ghana Enterprise Agency is also roping in the private sector to support business coaching and mentoring initiatives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also realised the need for industries, the private sector and existing business to come in and support some of the smaller and medium enterprises and pull them up,\u201d Kosi Yankee said.<\/p>\n
ABSA Bank is the main sponsor of the Citi Business Festival 2022 with support from MTN Momo and MTN Business Support, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) and IT Consortium.<\/em><\/p>\n