IICD supported project: Business Development Support Services for SMEs using ICT - Ghana

Countries: Ghana [GH]
Sectors: livelihoods

Summary

A Business Development Centre will be established in the office of PEPS-C to support and promote small and medium size private sector businesses. Using the ICT facilities, the project will provide capacity building in business skills, give access to market information and establish a platform to share knowledge.

Update

Updated: 2008-05-20

Ordina has agreed to assist IICD in implementing the capacity building activities of the project. They will train the entrepreneurs to blend ICT with marketing and accounting skills. They will also provide a career advice tool.

Introduction

The high unemployment rate and poverty of the youth in the Upper West Region of Ghana is a social problem. In this region, it is difficult to collaborate effectively in the field of business promotion for small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), due to inadequate infrastructural facilities and a lack of ICT capacity. This minimizes the opportunities to share information and learn from other experiences. Job creation in the private sector is identified in the ICT4AD policy as a priority area of government’s overall socio-economic development programme. Against this background PEPS-C will address the issues of ICT capacity development and create an adequate infrastructure for collaboration.

PEPS-C is a Roman Catholic NGO, which was established by the Brothers FIC in collaboration with the Catholic Diocese of Wa. PEPS-C aims to mobilize Technical/Vocational School leavers into viable producer enterprises. Through sustainable self-employment they can make a living.

PEPS-C has developed a business plan to secure the sustainability of the project. By linking up with the Community Information Centre (CIC) in Wa PEPS-C can reach out to a wider community and promote its activities.

The project will generate revenues through a training programme for the enterprise groups (for a variable fee), and through charges for using the ICT facilities, including internet and email.

Objectives

• To establish a Business Development Service Centre with ICT facilities to promote private sector businesses. Target groups are small and medium enterprises and members of the West African Chief of Police Committee Conference (WAPCC);
• To train all PEPS-C’s member SMEs, led by youth, in the area of business management, financial management, and entrepreneurial skills development. As such, they can enhance their knowledge, and improve the quality and quantity of production in the coming three years, while combining and supporting these with ICT applications;
• To research ways and means of market access and market expansion for the products and services of the enterprises

Development Impacts

The beneficiaries are the members (youth-led SMEs) of PEPS-C. These enterprises / co-operatives are all engaged in various trade areas such as, building, woodwork, metalwork, textile weaving, batik tie and dye, dressmaking etc. The total number of youth actively engaged in production enterprises for which this project of capacity building will be focused, now stands at 384 of which 249 representing 65% are women and 135 representing 35% are men. They will gain in terms of knowledge / capacity development and in the diversification of business opportunities.