UNIDO, GEA And Japan Open Applications For Its National Kaizen Initiative For MSMES

ACCRA, 10th March 2023 – The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) today launched a call for applications for its program aimed at scaling up Ghana’s national initiatives on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) promotion.

The call for proposal under the joint implementation of UNIDO and the GEA is part of activities of its $3.9 Million project “Expanding the Kaizen Initiatives by Enhancing Sustainable Agri-Business”, funded by the government of Japan to sustainably and continually improve quality and productivity of businesses in Ghana.

Mr. Marin Mizuno, UNIDO Project Manager, noted acquiring proper enterprise performance management skills is crucial to the sustainability of MSMEs and enterprises’ growth.

Mr. Mizuno said: “In this difficult time, the only control at our disposal is our own internal resources, which we can maximize to improve enterprise performance. And in this regard, I strongly believe that the Kaizen approach, which leverages the efficiency of internal resources, is the perfect tool for MSMEs to cope with the current difficulties.”

He emphasised that UNIDO’s Smart and Sustainable Agri-business, an innovative enterprise performance management tool which leverages digital solutions for productivity improvement will contribute to modernizing enterprise performance management in the MSMEs space.

Mr. Tetsuya Imaoka, Coordinator for Economic Cooperation of the Embassy of Japan in Ghana revealed the philosophy of Kaizen is to improve the enterprise performance by maximizing the efficiency with the available resources, rather than resorting to huge capital investment.

Mr. Imaoka affirmed: “I believe Japanese technology, experience and wisdom through a variety of methodologies and approaches is exactly what is needed in Ghana, especially for micro, small and medium enterprises as we go through a very difficult time.”

Hon. Samuel Abu Jinapor, Caretaker Minister for the Ministry of Trade and Industry and Substantive Minister for the Ministry of Lands and Natural Resources said data from the registrar General’s Department of Ghana indicates that about 90% of businesses registered in Ghana are MSMEs.

He confirmed: “Micro, Small and Medium enterprises have been identified by Government as the means through which its Industrial Transformation Agenda and other development goals of the country can be realised and we are grateful to Japan for this support.”

Mrs. Kosi Yankey-Ayeh, the Chief Executive Officer of GEA stated that the project is going to stimulate the National Expansion drive for MSMEs with an emphasis on production efficiency, food safety and compliance to make them more efficient and competitive.

Mrs. Yankey-Ayeh added: “We are committed, prepared and well-positioned to partner with UNIDO to ensure the smooth commencement and successful implementation of the Project”.

MSMEs who meet the selection requirement would be selected for Kaizen and SSAB training. The selected MSMEs will also benefit from the capital investment component of the project.
The Call for Proposals for this program will be open until the 30th of April for the enterprises to apply. The selection will be duly conducted for the final nomination of the enterprises to be supported under the program.

About UNIDO

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) is a specialised agency of the United Nations.

Its mandate is to promote and accelerate sustainable industrial development in developing countries and economies in transition and work towards improving living conditions in the world’s poorest countries by drawing on its combined global resources and expertise.