After a successful Access Bank/Graphic Business SME Clinic held in March this year, the Bank has held a workshop to help players in the sector take advantage of opportunities and scale up their businesses.

Held at the auditorium of the University of Professional Studies, Accra (UPSA) on the theme, “Remodelling for Excellence through Digitalisation”, the workshop was to support small and medium scale enterprises to add value to their businesses and become more competitive.

Participants were urged to assess the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on their operations to enable them undertake effective remodelling of their business structure to stay afloat.

Facilitating the workshop, the Co-Founder of Lead Afrique, Mr Michael Ohene-Effah, who made the call, observed that remodelling would help position SMEs to transform their operations in order to be resilient and more sustainable in the future.

He reiterated that rather than staying idle, small businesses are required at this period to start assessing their operations and respond accordingly with solutions that could restore them on the path of growth.

“Assessing and responding effectively would differentiate businesses that would ride through the storm to success and those who would be disintegrated and close down their operations”, Mr. Effah added.

Addressing participants at the workshop, the Zonal Head of Business Banking, Mr Jones Darmoe, said the pandemic was impacting small and medium enterprises in unprecedented ways as such, digitalisation is a sure bet to navigate the challenges presented.

“As we seek to emerge from the pandemic, we have an opportunity to shape the country’s economic recovery in a way that delivers sustainable, long-lasting, impactful change. Investing in small businesses, and helping them achieve their full, digital potential, will ensure a stronger, future-proofed Ghana and Access Bank is happy to be spearheading this narrative”, he added.

The workshop had about 50 SMEs participating to enhance their knowledge in the sector.

Since 2009, Access Bank has demonstrated a strong commitment to sustainable business practices driving profitable, sustainable growth that is also environmentally responsible and socially relevant. The Bank is also leading the way with investments in key sectors of the economy including telecommunications, energy, oil and gas, manufacturing and agriculture. These have contributed to the Bank being recognised in various awards including the 2020 Global Financial Inclusion Award by The Banker Magazine.