Study: Ghana yet to fully assess impact of cellular phones on small businesses
The impact of cellular phones on productivity and competitiveness in micro and small business has not been fully assessed in the country, a study conducted by Scientific and Technological Policy Research Institute has showed.
According to the study there were emerging empirical evidences about the innovative application of mobile phones in the activities of small scale business in developing countries.
"However, the impact of mobile phones on the micro and small scale enterprises in Ghana has not been assessed.”
Godfred Frempong, Head, Industry and Service Division of STEPRI, who presented a report on the survey in Accra on Thursday, said the study was therefore to address the extent of adoption of mobile phones, uses of mobile phones and their contribution to facilitate micro and small businesses.
The study, which selected 100 micro and small businesses from six locations in the southern, middle and northern belts, indicated that with the exception of improvement in banking transactions, other positive indicators were contact with suppliers, customers, and potential clients, reduction of transportation and contribution of profit margins.
Dr Frempong said issues raised related to cost of using phones and a general discontent over cost of subscription and call charges, among others.
He said there was an overwhelming agreement among respondents about the catalytic role it played in business development and noted that it was imperative that innovative services were developed to enhance activities of small businesses in less urban and rural areas.
The results of the study, he said, showed that there were fewer problems with mobile phones as an enabler of economic activity.
However, quality of service was a big issue and called on operators to establish feedback systems to enable them to gather perspectives of the public on their services.
He charged the National Communication Authority to continue to penalise operators whose services were below the required standard saying “subscribers should be more proactive in demanding better services from providers to ensure quality.
Deputy Minister of Communications, Frederick Opare-Ansah, said ICT was driving the global digital economy and called on academia, researchers, industry and government to work together and nurture policies and programmes that would promote and maintain an increase in the spread of knowledge at all levels.
He noted that in the Telecom Policy, the Ministry had targeted to improve rural tele-density to, at least 10 percent by 2015 and 15 percent national penetration by the same time saying there had been a remarkable improvement in telecommunication penetration.
This, he noted, should encourage communication service providers to utilise the national backbone as a platform to expand their services, improve quality and introduce more innovative offers at competitive prices.
Director General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Emmanuel Owusu-Bennoah also noted that mobile phones had become the dominant service which was accessible to many people. He said the World Bank says 80 percent of the world's population was within the coverage of the mobile phones networks.
He noted that the study had shown an increase in adoption of phone in enhancing businesses and it was important that efforts must be made to foster a fuller exploitation of the potential of mobile phones in economic activities.
He called for a strong partnership between STEPRI, which had been in the business of ICT Policy studies since the 1990s, the Ministry of Communications and other stakeholders to put Ghana firmly on the ICT landscape of the world.