The Ministry of Environment, Science and Technology (MEST), in collaboration with the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), has held a 3-day roundtable discussion on Technology and Innovation for the competitiveness of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs).
The event, held in Accra from Tuesday, forms part of the implementation of the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project (GJSP).
The GJSP Project is World Bank funded and considered as one of the main forms of support for the government’s top-priority agenda of upgrading skills among the country’s population, creating more and better-quality jobs, and improving job outcomes for youth. It connects success in these areas to state stability, social cohesion, and economic inclusion.
The Project supports the government’s prioritised skills development and job creation agenda, through four main components and a Contingent Emergency Response.
The roundtable brought successful Technology Partnerships between Scientific Research Institutions in Ghana and the UK, and their local business partners to demonstrate how their partnerships have resulted in the development of new products and jobs.
This initiative funded by the Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO) through the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) served as a proof of concept for adoption by SMEs and Research and Knowledge institutions.
In a statement read on behalf of the MEST Minister, Ibrahim Murtala Mohammed, Deputy Director for Science and Technology, Nashiru Salifu, mentioned that as part of its role in catalysing technology adoption and innovation under the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project, the ministry will work closely with the Ministry for Trade, Agribusiness, and Industry.
“This collaboration aims to align the Science and Technology Policy with Ghana’s MSME and Industrial Policy, ensuring it serves as a support framework for MSME development and industrialisation,” he noted.
“We will work closely with the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Agribusiness to ensure that science and technology become a support policy for MSME development,” the minister said.
The roundtable brought participants from various Research Institutions, selected beneficiary MSMEs from the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project, the Association of Ghana Startups, the Ghana Chamber of Young Entrepreneurs (GCYE) and policy makers.
BY TIMES REPORTER
