The Business Advisory Center Officer provided a comprehensive overview of the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA). She stated that the Agency is the apex governmental agency responsible for the promotion and development of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana. The aim was to raise awareness and understanding of the GEA's role and the array of initiatives it offers to support and promote local businesses. The Officer highlighted available resources, training programs, and funding opportunities. Attendees were encouraged to leverage these resources for the growth of their businesses.
Here's a breakdown of the key points covered:
- Introduction to Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA): The Officer provided an overview of the GEA, explaining its mission, vision, and core objectives. This included a brief on their setup from the national to the local level, that is a head office, 16 regional directorates 210 BACs, and 67 BRCs.
- Clientele Focus: The Officer highlighted specific clients that directly benefit from GEA. This included All MSMEs in Ghana (Potential and Practicing), Groups/Associations/Clusters, Unemployed Youth, Students of tertiary and Vocational institutions, Vulnerable Groups (eg, persons with disability, refugees), Individuals, women, and Returnees.
- Main Services: The Officer detailed the services provided by the GEA, such as Identification of the needs of MSMEs, Designing and organizing business development training programmes, Facilitation and provision of access to financial support, Facilitation and provision of access to market support through trade shows& digitalization, Provision of advisory and counseling services, Facilitation of access to regulatory agencies (RGD, FDA, and GSA)
- Funding Opportunities: One crucial aspect of the sensitization was the discussion on funding opportunities provided by the GEA. This included grants, loans, or other financial support mechanisms aimed at assisting businesses in their growth and development phases. The officer outlined the current projects namely Ghana Jobs and Skills Project/YouStart, GETP-SMEHigh Growth Grant Programme (https://sggp.gheaonline.com/introduction), GETP-Women, and Youth in MSME Prog. (https://wmsme.gheaonline.com/introductionshttps://ymsme.gheaonline.com/guidelines), GETP- PWDs Support (https://gea.gov.gh/getp/pwd)
The Officer encouraged members to take advantage of the resources, training programs, and funding opportunities offered by the GEA and stated that her office is open to all. Again, she emphasized that by leveraging these resources, businesses could enhance their competitiveness, expand their operations, and contribute to the overall economic development of the municipality.
The sensitization session aimed not only to inform attendees about the existence of the GEA but also to inspire them to actively engage with the agency's offerings for the betterment of their businesses. The meeting then tasked the Officer to continue with more awareness creation on the activities of the agency with the business community of the municipality.
In addition, Mr. Ocantey provided information on the layout of stalls, the types of businesses expected to participate, and other elements that would enhance the overall experience for both vendors and attendees. More so, he stated that exhibitors will pay registration fee. Therefore, he directed members of the forum to contact the Office of the Department of Agriculture for further information on the sales bazaar.
The Municipal Management Information System Officer educated attendees on the new directive with respect to the payment of property rates. He mentioned that property rates were to be collected by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) from the beginning of the year 2023. However, the challenges that had been associated with the collection made the government direct all MMDAs to start collection. He said the Assembly had started printing and distributing bills for 2023 and therefore appealed to the business community to pay their rates when they receive their bills.
Contributing to the discussion, members recommended that the Assembly intensify public education on the payment of property rates in the communities and even at the meeting place of the artisans and traders’ associations. Moreover, members were of the view that more revenue collectors should be dispatched to the field for the distribution and collection of property rates.
