German Cooperation increases financial support for ILO Score programme; 270 SMEs to receive training

The German Government is sponsoring the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme in Ghana with €399,554 to train 270 Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

The ILO Score programme is aimed at increasing SMEs’ productivity and resource efficiency, thereby creating jobs and improving working conditions.

The programme is implemented by the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), a sub-vented agency under the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations (MELR), with support from the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), within the framework of the Special Initiative "Decent Work for a Just Transition", which also operates under the brand Invest for Jobs.

In 2021, GIZ Ghana, under the Invest for Jobs Programme, signed a first grant agreement with the MDPI to train 60 SMEs with the SCORE methodology. A second grant agreement was signed in August 2022 to train an additional 74 SMEs.

Given the high impacts observed in the last few years, the SCORE programme is now being extended to 270 additional SMEs and four more administrative regions where the programme hasn’t been implemented before – including Bono, Bono East, Northern and Savannah Regions.

Speaking at a kickoff workshop in Accra on Monday, November 13 to start the third phase of the SCORE programme, Team Leader Invest for Jobs, Mr. John Duti said the third phase of the German government’s sponsorship for the SCORE programme is only right following the successful implementation of the first two phases by Management Development and Productivity Institute and all the other partners.

He said it is the hope of GIZ that just like the first two phases, the third phase will also be successful to ensure the successes are spread to enterprises in all the targeted regions.

Mr. Duti said that what the SCORE programme is doing is that it is promoting the Just Transition paradigm by focusing on working towards a green transformation of the economy while promoting decent employment, social inclusion, poverty eradication and gender equality at the same time.

“There is the need for us to grow economically but we cannot grow at the expense of the environment. It’s important for SMEs to begin to grow to adopt green processes. Let’s think green, let’s act green, and let’s live green. By the end of 2024 we are expecting that more than 400 decent jobs will be created,” Mr. John Duti said.

On his part, David Marcos who is head of the ILO Team in Ghana said everything that is being done under the programme is for the benefit of the public, knowing that there is so much that can be done to improve the efficiency of SMEs in Ghana.

He said in the end, “The result we want to see is to have an effect on improving effectiveness, the pride of the people doing the job, reenergizing firms, to make them more productive.”

David Marcos

In his remarks, he admonished all partners to work together for the programme to be successful.

Speaking at the workshop, the Director General of MDPI, Madam Bernice Adjei expressed appreciation to the German Government for the continuous support to train SMEs.

Stressing that SMEs contribute immensely to creating jobs for developing countries such as Ghana, she said improving productivity and working conditions of SMEs in the country through the ILO Score programme is key.

Madam Bernice Adjei

“I will plead to the German government through the GIZ to take into consideration getting equipment, tools and PPEs to help them [SMEs] because in the north now most of the enterprises and their workers are not protected,” Madam Bernice Adjei.

She further indicated that she is excited about the collaboration with the German Cooperation and hopes it continues for a longer period.

Present at the kick-off ceremony were representatives from the International Labour Organisation (ILO), the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, the Ministry of Trade and Industries, the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Trade Unions, SCORE Implementing Partners (IPs) and selected enterprises.