The one-year training programme, which was on the theme: “Professional print excellence”,  was meant to enhance the capacity and ability of these SMEs to meet international standards.

The General Manager of IIA, Mr Sam Brandful, expressed the hope that the training would set the stage for the selected SMEs to increase competitiveness and drive revenue. He said the SMES were trained in all the latest technologies in the printing industry.

On the impact the training would have on the businesses of the SMEs, Mr Brandful expressed the hope that it would impact positively on their businesses because they had been taken through a lot of new ways of doing things, new technologies, new softwares and “these were done by trainers from Canon and as you know Canon is a global leader in imaging solutions and I believe what they have gone through will transform the way they perform on the job,” he said.

The general manger also pointed out that the SMEs would be assisted financially to acquire modern technologies in the printing sector to improve quality service.

“Part of the deal is for Canon to make the equipment available at discounted prices and when it comes to IIA, our partners include banks that are prepared to look at proposals from businesses and support them,” he noted.

Training exercise

As part of the exercise, the printers went through a two-week intensive entrepreneurial, business management and business planning skills programme that was delivered by third party experts such as Empretec and Ernst and Young.

In addition, technical skills such as paper handling, colour management, output assessment and personalised works were provided by Canon trainers with support from IIA and MFI International Group.

The Marketing Manager of Canon, (Middle East), Mr Ayman Aly, said the training programme had set the stage for building the capacity of the SMEs in the printing sector to help position them to increase competitiveness and generate profit.

He said Canon commissioned a market research for Ghana and found out that some corporate organisations were often using print providers in foreign countries for their print requirements.

The research identified that 96 per cent of companies believe business in Ghana will grow in the next three to five years.

Mr Aly said about 64 per cent of the companies explained that they could be persuaded to have more material printed within Ghana if printing quality improved.

The trainees, he stated, had benefited from the use of latest technologies and new trends in printing in order to fulfil the growing needs of big organisations to achieve good quality print in Ghana.

 The Manager of Inkexpress Business Solutions, Mr Emmanuel Kpakpo Brown, and a beneficiary of the programme, said the programme had impacted positively on him to deliver quality services to meet international standards.

He was grateful to the facilitating firms for the opportunities offered them.