Kumasi, Nov. 14, GNA - Prof Kwasi Kwafo Adarkwa, Vice Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science Technology (KNUST), has announced plans to establish a research centre on campus for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs).

The centre has the objective of adding value to SMEs by providing linkages with research institutions and promote advocacy to facilitate their rapid growth and development. The Vice Chancellor, who said this in an address read for him at the opening of a five-day international workshop for SMEs which is underway in Kumasi, said the move would bridge the gap between SMEs and research institutions to enable research outcomes impact positively on the activities of SMEs and entrepreneurs.

The workshop, which is being jointly organized by the International Small Enterprise Promotion and Training (SEPT) Program of the university of Hepzig in Germany, DAAD (a German academy exchange service) and the KNUST School of Business, is being attended by 30 officials from these institutions as well as Angola, Palestine, The National Board for Small-Scale Industries.

Prof Adarkwa said there was the need for government to recognize the role of higher education in creating knowledge economy and provide a platform to support innovations and ensure a stronger and larger source of human capital and new technology for SMEs.

Mr. Magnus Joseph Frimpong, Acting Dean, KNUST School of Business, said the development of SMEs is being acknowledged as a key condition in promoting equitable and sustainable economic development. He said developing as well as developed countries acknowledged the role and importance of SMEs in generating employment, stimulating growth and creating social cohesion.

Also, interest in SMEs also seems to have been further revived in the face of globalization, which is increasingly becoming an influential force in world trade.

Mr Frimpong appealed to African SMEs to take advantage of the potential opportunities globalization affords and compete in such a global environment. 14 Nov 08