MTN Ghana has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) to become a stronger force for innovation, job creation and economic growth, saying the businesses that will shape Ghana’s economy over the next decade may not be the largest businesses operating today.
The Chief Enterprise Officer of MTN Ghana, Angela Mensah Poku, said the future of the Ghanaian economy would increasingly be shaped by ambitious entrepreneurs who embrace innovation, technology and continuous learning.
She made the observation at the 8th MTN SMEGA Awards held at the Alisa Hotel on Thursday, where outstanding SMEs from across the country were recognised for their contribution to various sectors of the economy.
“The businesses that will define Ghana’s economy over the next decade may not be the largest businesses you know today, but they will be in the room, still small in size but big in ambition,” she said.
According to her, the ability of entrepreneurs to anticipate change and use technology to improve their businesses would be critical to their survival and competitiveness.
She said the theme for this year’s awards, “Shaping Ghana’s Economic Future, Empowering SMEs through Innovation and Digital Transformation for Sustainable Growth, Global Competitiveness and Financial Resilience,” was particularly relevant in an environment where technology was rapidly transforming industries.
“Technology does not transform your businesses. People do. The entrepreneur who challenges old ways of working, the owner who uses data to make sharper decisions, the leader who sees disruption not as a threat but an opening, these are the people writing the next chapter of Ghana’s economic story,” she said.
About 1,350 applications were received from all 13 regions for this year’s awards, reflecting the growing interest of Ghanaian businesses in opportunities for recognition, capacity building and growth.
She said MTN’s SME support extended beyond the awards ceremony, stressing that the company was investing in training, capital and connectivity to help entrepreneurs build sustainable businesses.
She noted that MTN SME Accelerate programme had taken business clinics to six regions this year and equipped more than 1,000 entrepreneurs with practical skills in digital adoption, financial management and business resilience.
For the first time, she said, the training was complemented with capital through business pitch sessions, which provided seed funding to nine promising entrepreneurs.
“This is why MTN partners with SMEGA, not to sponsor a ceremony but to invest in what happens between the ceremonies, the training, the capital and the connectivity,” she said.
The award winners received MTN smart devices, data and voice packages, as well as opportunities to participate in a Mini MBA series through the NOVA programme.
Among the winners were Noble Sign Enterprise for Micro Entrepreneur Business Potential Discovery; Koliko Wear Enterprise for Leather, Textile and Garments; Queen GAF Enterprise for Consumer Products, Cosmetics and Household Manufacturing, Women Entrepreneur and Agribusiness Value Addition and Market.
Other winners included Extra Comfort Limited, Dress Up College, Activity Limited, Ahodwo Farms Limited, Dinmbone Farmgate Limited, Dinas Prime Enterprise and Maerkinstein Limited.
Ms Mensah Poku said the awards were a recognition of resilience, creativity and impact, and urged entrepreneurs to remain committed to learning, adapting and reinventing their businesses.
She said MTN, which is celebrating 30 years of operations in Ghana under the theme “30 Years of Progress, Powered by You”, would continue to support entrepreneurs because of the wider impact their success has on families, communities and the national economy.
Executive Director of SMEGA, Kwesi Ofori, in his address at the programme said the organisation was expanding its support for SMEs beyond recognition to include access to technology, investment, markets and global partnerships.
Mr Ofori said SMEGA had expanded its regional training programme after initially targeting 150 participants, eventually training between 250 and 300 entrepreneurs in collaboration with MTN. He said the awardees represented businesses that had demonstrated the courage to dream and build despite challenges.
He announced plans to introduce “SMEGA Score Class”, a platform designed to help businesses structure their financial reports and operations, using artificial intelligence and human intervention to position them for investment, partnerships and market access.
“A lot of standards that these businesses need, SMEGA Score Class has come to help businesses make sure that they measure up to the standards,” he said, urging SMEs to make technology an integral part of their operations as businesses increasingly move away from paper based systems.
Mr Ofori also urged entrepreneurs to think beyond the Ghanaian market and position their businesses for international partnerships, saying SMEGA was working towards a global SME entrepreneurship partnership programme involving universities and chambers of commerce.
He said SMEGA was also paying increasing attention to sustainability and environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, noting that some businesses had already applied for the ESG category of the awards.
“There is some financing when it comes to carbon trading, and we are ready to support you and give you the tools and solutions to get funding for your business,” he said.
He further encouraged SMEs to use insurance and other available financial instruments to manage risks, while assuring entrepreneurs that SMEGA would continue working with them to build businesses capable of competing and forming partnerships beyond Ghana.
Speaking on behalf of the Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare, the chief Director of the Ministry Mr Noah Tuffour said Ghana needed to see a transformation in the capacity and competitiveness of its small businesses.
“The issue is, therefore, not simply how many SMEs Ghana has, but how many are able to increase production, employ more people, add value, meet the required standards and compete successfully in larger markets,” he said.
He said the desired transition required businesses to move from informal operations to proper business systems, increase production capacity and expand from serving mainly immediate markets to supplying wider domestic and export markets.
According to him, proper record keeping, quality production, compliance with standards, financial management, packaging, production capacity and effective use of technology were increasingly determining whether businesses could move beyond their existing markets.
“Businesses seeking to grow must keep proper records, produce to the required quality, comply with applicable standards and deliver consistently,” Mr Tumfuor said.
He said Ghana’s participation in regional and international trade presented significant opportunities for local businesses, citing the country’s non traditional exports, which he said reached approximately $5 billion in 2025.
He further pointed to the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as an opportunity for Ghanaian enterprises to access a much larger continental market.
However, Mr Tuffour cautioned that the success of AfCFTA for Ghana would ultimately depend on the ability of local businesses to produce competitively and meet market requirements.
“The real value to Ghana will be seen in the number of enterprises that are able to produce competitively, meet market requirements and sell successfully across the continent,” he said.
He stressed the importance of collaboration between government and the private sector in creating the conditions necessary for SME growth.
He said while government’s responsibility was to provide the appropriate policy and regulatory environment, the private sector had an important role to play by investing in technology, financing and business development support.
Mr Tuffour also commended MTN Ghana for its contribution to enterprise development through initiatives including the SME Accelerate programme, particularly its support for digital adoption, financial management and business development.
He said technology was increasingly important to businesses because of its potential to improve management, productivity and access to markets.
The Chief Director congratulated MTN Ghana on its 30 years of operations in the country and said the enterprises being recognised at the awards represented a broader national interest.
“Every Ghanaian enterprise that increases production, employs additional workers, adds value or enters a new market strengthens the productive base of our economy,” he said.
He said the Ministry’s ultimate objective was to help transform today’s small businesses into stronger enterprises capable of producing, employing and adding value competitively in Ghana and beyond.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Margaret Ansei, on her part called for stronger support systems to help SMEs innovate, adopt digital technologies and build resilience to compete in domestic and international markets.
Madam Ansei said innovation should be treated as a daily discipline rather than something limited to major breakthroughs. “Innovation is not always a dramatic breakthrough. Sometimes it is a farmer finding a better way of reducing waste, or a manufacturer finding a safer way to produce,” she said.
She said digital transformation should also be used to open new opportunities for businesses, noting that a mobile phone could become a shopfront, while digital records could help lenders better understand a business.
She disclosed that the GEA, in partnership with UNDP, GIZ and other partners, had launched the SME MSME Gateway platform to bring formalisation guidance, financing opportunities, business advice and market access into one digital platform, with a target of strengthening the digital capabilities of at least 25,000 Ghanaian enterprises, particularly women and youth owned businesses.
Madam Ansei said resilience was built through disciplined cash management, proper records, reliable standards and the ability to adapt during difficult periods.
She said the GEA was supporting young entrepreneurs through its Business in a Box initiative across all 16 administrative regions to formalise their businesses, prepare them for financing, strengthen operations and access larger markets.
She said the African Continental Free Trade Area offered Ghanaian businesses access to a continental market of about 1.4 billion people, but cautioned that access to a large market did not automatically guarantee success.
“Businesses must be viable, trusted and ready to deliver,” she said, adding that global competitiveness began at home with quality, consistency and credibility.
