Access Bank Ghana has organised a workshop for more than 100 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to boost their digital skills.

The workshop which was held in Techiman, the capital of the Bono East Region, was on the theme: ‘Boosting Digital Skills for Emerging Opportunities.’ The participants included cashew growers, kente weavers and sellers, members of the Techiman Shoe Makers and Scrap Dealers associations, hair dressers and fashion designers.

According to the organizers of the event, the workshop is aimed at building and strengthening the capacities of Small and Medium Enterprises in digitalisation to enable them to leverage technology for the growth of their businesses.

Jones Darmoe, the Zonal Head for Business Banking, speaking at the event, urged SMEs to adopt digitisation to promote their businesses. According to him, digitisation is a key driver to the promotion and development of businesses. He thus, challenged the Small and Medium Enterprises in the country to embrace it for their own good.

Mr Darmoe indicated that last year, the bank held five fruitful SME engagements to increase the knowledge of people in the sector on its importance. He noted that since then, the engagement became a key aspect of the bank which was committed to ensuring the successful operation of SMEs across the country.

This, the Zonal Head for Business Banking indicated, has been beneficial to the advancement of SMEs across the worldwide.

SMEs Contribute Immensely to GDP Growth

Mr Darmoe highlighted the importance of Small and Medium Enterprises in the development of the country, Ghana. He said that “SME’s contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is enormous. It aids the development of the country’s economy.” He disclosed that that the SME sector contributes more than 70 per cent to the country’s overall GDP. He noted that collective efforts targeted at continually equipping SMEs would strengthen the sector to contribute greatly to the country’s GDP.

The Zonal Head for Business Banking asserted that the bank is proud to be championing the cause of SMEs through capacity building on digitalisation, access to loans for business expansion, advisory services, and other tailor-made products to help their businesses.

“We are moving the SME capacity building train around the country because our vision for SMEs is for the entire nation. We are happy and honoured to be part of this project. Techiman is one of the business hubs in the country that deserves to tap into the wealth digitalisation offered. We will continue this initiative until all SMEs in the country are covered.”
Jones Darmoe

Mr Darmoe averred that in 2021 alone, more than 6,000 SMEs benefited from the digitisation programme through clinics and workshops held in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi.

Mr Darmoe noted that the Access Bank’s focus for 2022 is boosting digital skills for emerging opportunities. He thus, added that “we seek to consolidate the gains made in the past year, while we continue to equip more SMEs with knowledge on digitalisation”.