Accra, March 2, GNA - Ghana Chapter of Pan-African Competitiveness Forum (PACF) is poised to revive Ghanaian businesses and ensure that they craft effective strategies to exploit business concepts available on the continent.

Many Ghanaian businesses are not able to compete with their counterparts on the continent because of poor business strategies and need effective strategies to survive the tide. PACF is a new continent-wide competence and action centre for innovation and cluster-based approach to national and regional development.

Dr George Essegbey, Director of Science and Technology Policy Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), made the observation at the general meeting of PACF, Ghana Chapter, in Accra on Monday to find ways of promoting and enhancing competitiveness among Ghanaian businesses. He said the Ghana Chapter would promote competitiveness by rebuilding identified Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), promote their growth and improve the livelihood of people engaged in the sector. Members of the Ghana Chapter include associations of horticulture, vegetable, yam and handicraft exporters, and furniture and jewellery manufacturers.

Dr Essegbey said problems of access to finance, technology, innovation, creativity and networking would be addressed to ensure successful businesses in the country. He explained that Ghanaian entrepreneurs should be able to compete with their business counterparts in the sub-region and the continent as a whole and "this could only be done if they put in the right strategies to market their wares".

It is estimated that over 90 per cent of economic activity in most countries is carried out by SMEs, a manifestation of the pivotal role they play in creating dynamic, market oriented economic growth, employing workforce in developing countries and poverty reduction. Dr Essegbey noted that the world had become a global village where distance was no longer a barrier to international trade but trading and service now depended on the competitiveness of the various nations that whished to trade.

"It is therefore in our interest to accept the global competitive economic phenomenon and take advantage of opportunities offered." Dr Essegbey called for more networking among Ghanaian business entrepreneurs to promote competitiveness and their businesses.