Tema, April 22, GNA- Madam Janice M. Bruce, Director of the Commercial Department of USA Embassy on Wednesday called on business owners to take advantage of information technology to seek vital information about their businesses to make progress.

She said business could never thrive in darkness and ignorance and stressed on seeking knowledge to help them to come out with innovations that would sell on the local and international market.

Madam Bruce was the guest speaker at the inauguration of the Tema branch of the EMPRETECH Business, with a six-member-executive, which has Mr Eben K. Sedufia as president, Mrs Irene Korsah, secretary and Mrs Doris Crabbe, treasurer.

The director said as business was the engine of every economy there was the need for networking by being transparent, while governments should also put structures in place to promote the growth of the economy. She urged all business owners who had been trained by EMPRETECH to make effective use of the knowledge acquired to market their goods. Madam Bruce said the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) was the best marketing tool that the US had made to promote African products but warned that it could not be used profitably without the knowledge of marketing skills.

"This calls for research work by penetrating into particular commercial areas for advancement," she noted.

Mr Sedufia, President, said, the association aimed among other things at identifying existing and potential members and to organise educational programmes to promote businesses.

Nana Tweneboah-Boateng, coordinator of the President's Special Initiative on Textiles and Garment who chaired the function entreated business owners to take advantage of the enabling environment to expand their business.

EMPRETECH has branches in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi.