Winners of the SME Ghana Awards (SMEGA) 2026 in Accra will receive insurance cover, mini-MBA training, introductions to international investors and a place on an Asia trade mission, organisers and MTN Ghana said.
The package moves the awards beyond a single night of trophies. It offers follow-on support to a group of businesses that make up about nine in 10 firms in Ghana and still struggle to raise finance and reach markets abroad.
Queen Gaf Enterprise, an agro-processing and cosmetics company led by Fuseini Gafaratu, was named SME of the Year. It also took the Agri-Business Value Addition & Market Award and the Women Entrepreneur Award. Gafaratu said she believes the business will one day grow into a conglomerate.
Other winners included Ahodwo Farms Limited (Agri-Business Production), Artivity Limited (Creative Arts, Crafts & Design), DemiPearl Company Limited (Food, Beverage & Agro-Processing), Binas Prime Enterprise (Retail & Consumer Products Trade), Bubune Africa Limited (Product Innovation) and Excelsa Forestry Renewables Ghana Ltd (Sustainable Enterprise & ESG Excellence).
Star Assurance Group will provide comprehensive business insurance to the winners. The organisers did not name the investors, the mini-MBA provider or the trade mission’s destination country.
SME GrowAfrica organises the awards. They close MTN Ghana’s year-long SME Accelerate Programme, which ran business clinics, pitching sessions and management training. At the launch of this year’s edition, MTN said the programme had reached more than 400 entrepreneurs and that the awards would cover 18 categories. SMEGA returned in 2025 after a five-year break.
Margaret Ansei, Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), said small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) account for about 90 per cent of businesses in Ghana. She asked the winners to treat their awards as an obligation as well as a reward. “Trophies need to be celebrated, but they come with their responsibilities as well,” she said.
At the launch, Ansei listed limited access to finance, digital skills gaps, restricted market access and regulatory bottlenecks as the obstacles small firms still face. In June 2025, the GEA said such businesses made up 92 per cent of registered firms in Ghana and contributed about 70 per cent of gross domestic product.
Angela Mensah-Poku, Chief Enterprise Officer at MTN Ghana, said support for small businesses was central to the company’s plans as it marks 30 years in Ghana. She said MTN would keep providing digital infrastructure, fintech services and enterprise support to help them work more efficiently. MTN Ghana’s operating company, Scancom PLC, is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.
Mohammed Abubakari Siddiq, Senior Manager for SME Sales, Partnerships and Business Broadband at MTN Ghana, said a jury assessed the winners. He described the ceremony as the end of a year of training designed to sharpen their pitches and raise their profile with potential partners.
Kwesi Ofori Jr., Executive Director of SME GrowAfrica, said the package was designed to make the winners ready for investment. He urged them to build environmental, social and governance standards into their operations so their businesses can outlast their founders.
Noah Tumfo, Chief Director of the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, said the ministry was working to help small firms sell beyond the Ghanaian market. He said digitalisation was becoming central to business growth.
Some winners used the platform to press for more. Shadrach Ansah, Managing Director of Ahodwo Farms, a cassava grower and processor, said recognition mattered to workers in rural areas. He called on government agencies to adopt policies that support the sector and urged financial institutions, particularly the Bank of Ghana, to prioritise funding for industrialisation.
