As part of measures to reach out to larger consumers with products and services in the wake of COVID-19, Vodafone Ghana has partnered the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) to leverage technology for their sustainability.

Vodafone would provide a digital platform to promote products and services of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) after they had developed business ideas.

Mrs Patricia Obo-Nai, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, at a webinar series, said the telecom company’s support dubbed: “Vodafone Business Runway” said being the partner mobile money operator for the disbursement of the GH¢600 million to MSMEs allocated by the Government of Ghana after the introduction of the Coronavirus Alleviation Programme (CAP), to the NBSSI, it decided to contribute to the survival of the enterprises during and after the pandemic.

Many organisations, she said, were finding effective ways to digitally transform their competitiveness by reinventing back-office processes, speeding up the supply chain and other Human Resource services using technology.

All these were to win in the current dispensation and lead their respective industries in order not to be left behind, she said.

“The Vodafone Business Runway is crucial now more than ever, for us to deliberate and fashion out innovative solutions and ideas that will help SMEs survive this pandemic and beyond. What should be evident at the end of this webinar is for all of us to come together as a united force for the good of SMEs and to contribute to Ghana’s socio-economic growth,” Mrs Obo-Nai said.

She encouraged SMEs to embrace and adopt modern trends to become a digitalised ‘Ready Business’ with more options to substantially increase business growth and productivity.

“The use of technology is no longer an option for businesses. It is no longer about a brand but how you deliver to the expectation of your clients. Life has changed and it is important that businesses begin to rethink how to promote what they have with technology,” she said.

Mrs Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Executive Director, NBSSI, said aside the financial support for MSMEs, the Board with assistance from Vodafone was also providing technical support for the beneficiaries of CAP.

For the first time, 800,000 operators of MSMEs applied for a Tax Identification Number without a push as they realised the privileges that come with it, she said.

She advised beneficiaries of the CAP to work harder and try to enter into public private partnerships to build stronger and resilient businesses.

Mr Dominic Kwame Adu, the CEO of First National Bank, said using digital platforms to operate a business saves time and reduces the need to meet up with partners especially during the pandemic.

Technology, he said, allowed businesses to evaluate the operations of their stakeholders faster than in the manual sense.

Mr Adu said the success of every company depended on the success of their customers and that could be achieved by employing digital transmission to promote transparency.

Madam Francesca B. Opoku, the CEO of Solutions Oasis Ltd, explaining the role of technology in the smooth operation of businesses, said her company to thrive in this COVID-19 pandemic had moved its website and other online platforms from an informative platform to an e-commerce one.

She said they also engaged clients and other stakeholders via digital meeting platforms such as zoom, which was less expensive and convenient.