Panelists at the Maiden edition of the Graphic/Access Bank SME Clinic have called on Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) to adopt digital solutions for resilience and expansion as they strive to be competitive globally.

They asked SMEs to prepare adequately to take advantage of the digital space that remained largely underexploited.

The event, which was on the theme: “Boosting SME Resilience with Digital Solutions,” sought to provide the needed support in diverse ways to help alleviate SMEs of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Seth Twum Akwaboah, Chief Executive Officer, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), said SMEs could use virtual solutions in their meetings, use e-commerce with regards to their marketing activities and take advantage of e-transactions, while tapping into security systems to scale up their businesses.

He said the Association had developed an AGI SME Digital Solution Tool to be launched soon for use by its members.

The CEO said before SMEs could take full advantage of the digital solutions, they needed to acquire knowledge through training and that they should invest in these solutions, while joining networks to market their products.

He said SMEs would be left out in the participation of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area Agreement if they failed to jump on to digital platforms.

He called on government to put in place a digital infrastructure to help in providing the needed speedy orbit for solutions, if “we want to leapfrog and promote business growth”.

Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, Executive Director of Ghana Enterprises Agency, said the economy hinged on SMEs, so as much as possible, they needed to be provided with some sort of support or relief.

Mr Olumide Olatunji, the Managing Director of Access Bank Ghana Plc, said beyond some innovative start-ups and tech SMEs, a lot more traditional SMEs were lagging behind.

He said SMEs were still less well-connected to high-speed broadband, with lesser scope to participate in the data-driven economy or to leverage cloud computing for extra storage and processing capacity.

“In over a decade of banking in Ghana, our work has shown that digitalization offers tremendous opportunities to increase productivity and create jobs,” he said.

The digital economy offers new opportunities for scaling up and reducing costs, including through the creation of new business models that can challenge existing ones. And SMEs are the first to stand to benefit.

He said “this applies in particular to new or younger firms that often start digital, but also to more traditional, established firms seeking to go global and reach new markets through online activities”.

He said SMEs needed user-friend