SPINnet Textile and Garment Cluster in collaboration with the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) has organised a 10-day training programme on business management and planning for some selected entrepreneurs in the garment and textile industry in Accra.
The 10-day training programme, which was attended by 25 people, mainly in the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs), was sponsored by the Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund.
Objectives of training
The main aim of the training was to help build the capacities of players in the textile, garments and creative arts industry to enable them compete both locally and internationally.
It was also intended to help revamp the textile, garment and the creative arts industry in the country.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, the Executive Director of NBSSI, Ms Kosi Yankey, said the training would enable players in the sector to adopt best practices that would help their businesses to grow.
She added that the training would also help the beneficiaries to access bigger market and financial services, including how to manage their own finances well.
She, therefore, implored the beneficiaries to apply the experiences and knowledge gained at the training to enhance their business operations, pointing out that, trainees often times forget to apply new practices after training programmes.
Private sector
“Even if you can’t apply all, apply some”, Ms Yankey urged the beneficiaries, adding that the private sector was key to the country’s economy.
She said the private sector “is an engine of growth” and that the NBISS would continue to offer the needed assistance and direction to the players in the sector.
“We need all of you to help so that the country can succeed,” she encouraged the beneficiaries, adding that “we need to innovate as a people”.
Ms Yankey, however, mentioned innovation, access to market and access to better financial services as some of the major challenges facing the textile and garment industry and said the government was working to create an enabling environment for the sector.
BUSAC
Monitoring Officer from BUSAC Fund, Mr Gabriel Kofi Dake, said the organisation was interested in promoting local business in the country, particularly SMEs.
That, he added, the organisation would continue to partner training programmes meant to build the capacities of players in the SMEs sector.
He however admonished players in textile and garment industry to develop good customer care services, noting that often times, many SMEs players lacked the skill to deal with their customers.
Appeal
The past President of SPINnet, Nana Akua Busia, called on the government to enforce laws regulating the country’s textile and garment industry.
She said because the laws on the sector has not been effectively enforced, players in the sector face unfair competition from foreign products.
She said the country’s market is flooded with low quality and cheaper foreign textiles, hence affecting the patronage of the locally produced textiles, which she said were of better quality and suitable for the country’s weather.
Mrs. Marie-Rose Sackey, a member of SPINNet commended NBSSI and BUSAC Fund for their efforts in seeing the textile and garment industry develop.
SPINnet
SPINnet Textile and Garment Cluster is a cluster of small business that manufacture textiles and garments for both the domestic and export markets.
The cluster was established in 1997 as a joint initiative by the Ministry of Trade and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
In 2004, SPINnet played a lead role in the introduction of the National Friday Wear concept.
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