In honour of the 2024 International MSME Day, Hon. K.T. Hammond, Minister of Trade and Industry, officially launched the National New Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) (Classification of MSMEs) Regulation 2023.
This regulation aims to harness the strength and adaptability of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses to accelerate sustainable development and reduce poverty during periods of multiple crises.
The minister of trade and industry reaffirmed during the initiative’s launch today in Greater Accra that its goal is to give MSMEs a more organised and focused support system by way of a clear and unambiguous framework. In addition to improving resource accessibility and streamlining regulations, this would improve the environment in which MSMEs can flourish.
He went on to say that the classification will guarantee that almost all organisations, including financial institutions, handle MSMEs differently depending on their needs rather than using a “one size fits all” strategy.
He said to have reliable information that the MSMEs in Ghana were first categorised in the 1980s. Since then, there have been advancements in technology, population growth, economic expansion, and market transformation due to globalisation. These elements required that MSMEs be reclassified in order to conform to modern economic realities.
One of the GEA’s responsibilities under Section 3, subsection (c) of the GEA Act, which was to “determine the criteria for the classification of MSMEs” in order to foster their growth and encourage their involvement in industrial transformation, has been fulfilled by this statute, K.T. Hammond added.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Madam Kosi Yankey-Ayeh said that, a lot had changed in the year that followed, despite the fact that the nation had struggled to define MSME policy for the previous thirty years.
She emphasised that the definition of MSME will assist the organisation in developing new resources and innovative methods of operation.
According to Madam Kosi, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) have a significant impact on Ghana’s economy and are essential to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to transform the world by 2030 by achieving targets like ensuring sustainable economic growth and promoting decent work.
She underlined that MSMEs are crucial to her organisation, which is why she felt it was imperative to expand to include MSMEs and change the name of the organisation from the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) to the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA).