UNIDO holds maiden Cluster International Conference in Ghana to strengthen industrial competitiveness in AfCFTA

The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the European Union, and the Ministry of Trade and Industries (MoTI) on Wednesday, June 8, 2022, organized the maiden edition of the Cluster International Conference in Ghana to strengthen cluster inclusiveness for Small businesses in Accra.

The conference was hosted by the EU- funded West African Competitiveness Program (WACOMP) implemented by UNIDO and MoTI in collaboration with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) and the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).

The main objective was to present and promote Ghanaian clusters results and strengthen connections between Ghanaian SMEs as a sustainable way to enhance the country's competitiveness and integration in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

In an address, UNIDO Representative in Ghana and Liberia, Mr. Fakhruddin Azizi touched on the strong cooperation between UNIDO and the Government of Ghana and the joint commitment to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, especially in relation to areas such as energy and environment, investment, and quality standards.

He emphasised the successful achievements of the West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP), which can become a reference in the region, in terms of enhanced value addition, low carbon, sustainable production and processing and increased access to regional and global markets.

He said promoting the concept of clusters is vital because it is the way for SMEs to have a full effect and to be competitive in global value chains.

“Clusters add value to the development of the economy by creating groups of networked businesses in specific sectors and improves business capabilities by offering tailored support.

“UNIDO is promoting this concept to support SMEs to identify their niche and work together as entities to be competitive in the domestic and international market,” Mr. Fakhruddin Azizi said.

The UNIDO Representative in Ghana added, “UNIDO supports the industrialization drive of the Government of Ghana by supporting in building competitiveness of SMEs, development of standards, procuring equipment where necessary to augment the efficiency of testing and measurements in laboratories in GSA and FDA.

Mr. Fakhruddin Azizi further emphasised that supporting SMEs and clusters is indeed a strategic approach to ensure Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, to ensure that no one is left behind and that women can fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

Delivering a speech on behalf of the Minister for Trade and Industry, Mr. Patrick Nimo who is the Chief Director of the Ministry emphasised that the conference has come at the right time.

He said clusters are important owing to the fact that it is key to assisting small business to scale up without losing their quality.

“We need to lift standards, we need to lift or price limited to ensure we can compete. We need to conform because the market has become very complicated where there is a demand for labour standard

“We also need to connect among ourselves, we need to upscale and work with partners for linkage to the international market,” Mr. Patrick Nimo said while referencing the theme of the conference; ‘Coordinate, compete, conform, and connect’.

He urged UNIDO to consider a study that will look at how best clusters can work together in harmony to cut down on cost, adding that it will help in the scale-up of businesses.

Mr. Timothy Dolan, Team Leader - Macro-Economic and Trade Section of the European Delegation to Ghana indicated that: “Supporting SMEs and promoting cluster approach and cooperation is indeed a strategic approach to ensure Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development, that no one is left behind and that women can fully take advantage of the opportunities offered by the African Continental Free Trade Agreement”.

He said the UNIDO Conference is a unique opportunity to share knowledge with the view to help SMEs to scale up.

Mr. Timothy Dolan while underscoring the importance of the conference urged everyone present to fully participate to enjoy the many benefits.

On his part, Mr. Charles Kwame Sackey who is the Chief Technical Advisor of WACOMP - Ghana highlighted that: “Business clusters are core actors of change in the country’s industrial strategy and strengthening their resilience and their capacity to cooperate and trust each other should be the target of policymakers. This first Ghanaian Cluster conference will contribute to ensuring knowledge sharing in the region and will allow Ghanaian clusters to learn from each other and capitalising on networking and collaboration.”

Mr. Charles Kwame Sackey also shared the benefits of the conference noting that it is to contribute to the knowledge sharing in the region by allowing Ghanaian clusters to exchange and learn from each other and support networking and collaboration

He added that organisers also want to see an exchange with national authorities on ways to further upscale the approach and start brainstorming on possible ways to institutionalize the cluster approach at the Ghanaian level.

He noted that among other things, the conference is to present the Ghanaian experience to colleagues from Liberia in view of promoting an efficient and present some international best practices to further motivate and inspire Ghanaian Clusters.

In all, over 120 SMEs attended the first-ever Cluster International Conference in Ghana which also showcased products from Ghanaian entrepreneurs exporting their products and benefiting from the WACOMP – Ghana project.