Business consultant and entrepreneur Maria Johana Yuorpor has urged micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) to promote eco-friendly practices that would enhance their environmental sustainability and the sustainability of their businesses.
She indicated that the environment from which the MSMEs source their raw materials needs to be protected to continue to provide the resources necessary for their continuous operation.
“There’s the need for businesses to focus on sustainability by promoting eco-friendly practices and commit themselves to new sustainable goals,” she said.
Madam Johana said this in an interview with Wa-based Info Radio on the occasion of the celebration of the 2024 MSME Day under the theme, “Leveraging the Power and Resilience of MSMEs to Accelerate Sustainable Development and Eradicate Poverty in Times of Multiple Crisis.”
She also encouraged MSMEs to showcase their businesses to the public and tell their stories to inspire potential and emerging entrepreneurs and bring positive attention to their businesses.
“It’s also important for businesses to collect testimonials from customers to build their credibility and show the impact they’ve created over the years,” she added.
She explained that businesses, especially MSMEs in the Upper West Region, could hold community events to foster a sense of community and improve the trust and patronage of the community they serve.
She said, “This could be done in collaboration with each other, especially in the region, and this will bring together a sense of community where businesses in the Upper West Region can rely on each other to get some holdings and grow faster.”
Madam Johana, who is also the Upper West Regional Coordinator of the Northern Development Authority, encouraged MSMEs to advocate for effective and supportive policies that they can leverage to grow their businesses.
She emphasized the need for MSME owners to recognize and encourage the team members they work with, indicating that “as a business owner, the people you work with, they are your backbone.
“The people you source your raw materials from if you are into production, the people who help you to process, the people who help you to sell, that’s your core team; work with them as a team, and you would go far.”
The Women Enterprises Coach observed that the significant role MSMEs play in reducing unemployment, eradicating poverty, and improving livelihoods could be emphasized and, thus, indicated that the theme for the 2024 MSMEs Day celebration was timely, adequate, and appropriate.
According to the United Nations, MSMEs form 90 percent of businesses worldwide, 70 percent of employment, and 50 percent of countries’ gross domestic product (GDP) growth.
“MSMEs provide employment opportunities for the youth, women and other marginalized people in various communities and countries; Ghana is not an exception. She said that MSMEs are essential for reducing unemployment and helping with poverty alleviation and eradication,” she said.
She added that MSMEs bring innovation and foster competition in the entrepreneurial space, creating an atmosphere of swift deployment of solutions to new challenges and opportunities.
She noted that “MSMEs also help in local development. In a rural economy, they contribute to deploying and utilizing local resources, generating income, and promoting social cohesion.”
The World Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Day, founded by the United Nations General Assembly to raise awareness of enterprises’ tremendous contributions to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), is celebrated on June 27th every year.
