World SME Expo Opens In Hong Kong

The 7th World SME Expo officially opened at the Hong Kong Exhibition Centre last Wednesday. The three-day event attended by 13 SMEs from Ghana, is an annual exhibition targeted at Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across the world.

The Ghanaian team, led by Lord Koramoa, Product Head (Express Trade), West Africa, was met on arrival by a high powered delegation from the Africa Regional Office and other members of the SME Hong Kong team.

A total of 5000 manufacturers and other business entities from mostly Asia have registered to exhibit at the fair, which is estimated to attract more than 30,000 small businesses seeking to do business with their Asian counterparts.

Standard Chartered Bank, a key player in SME financing, is a major sponsor of this year's exposition. A total of 143 SMEs are in Hong Kong at the invitation of SCB to participate in the business fair.

The Ghanaian participants have since the start of the exposition linked up with various suppliers, and negotiating business deals aided by Standard Charted Bank staff present at the fair.

They have made good use of a Business Matching Special Offer, put together by SCB, in conjunction with the Hong Kong Trade Council and other key players in the Asian Export market.

This is designed to match specific African SMEs with Asian exporters with a working knowledge of the African market. A business advisory seminar was also held to provide first class service to African SMEs.

An elated participant from Ghana, Mr Samuel Adablah of Parkmart Ghana Limited, remarked “I did not know such a great opportunity exists for SMEs.

I have managed to strike a good deal with a manufacturer from Indonesia and I can only say thank you to Standard Chartered Bank"

The Ghana team had earlier made a stopover in Kenya on their way to Hong Kong. They visited the famous Kenya National Museum, the Snake Park and also interacted with a cross-section of the Kenyan SME community.