45 Shea-based SMEs formed with the support of EU-funded WACOMP – Ghana

The West Africa Competitiveness Program (WACOMP) -Ghana, a program funded by the European Union (EU) and implemented by the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) through its support to the Shea Global Alliance ( GSA) has trained 45 Shea-based SMEs. on branding and marketing in Accra on Tuesday.

The training was attended by small and medium-scale companies that produce shea-based cosmetic products, including soaps, creams, hair products, and shea butter.

Topics focused on exploring effective digital marketing platforms to identify buyers of shea-based products, understand the marketing investments of tomorrow, develop the right marketing mix for shea products, and create brand positioning to improve marketing. competitiveness of commercial exports.

As part of the program, there was a B2B forum in which SMEs interacted with trade attachés representing various export markets for shea buyers and retailers from the German Ghana Economic Association, the Ghana Chamber of Commerce Canada, the Chamber Ghana Trade Council of Sweden, Ghana Trade and India Advisory Chamber, UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce and African Exporter.com.

The GSA, through the WACOMP Outsourcing Matching Scheme, is implementing a project that will help increase product quality, increase productivity through training, encourage cluster development, and enhance the capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

The GSA and WACOMP-Ghana collaboration provides technical assistance to stakeholders in the cosmetic and personal care value chain and helps improve the cosmetic and personal care products of some 50 SMEs to increase sales, profits and the jobs.

The Outsourcing Matching Scheme is part of WACOMP’s intervention strategy where Associations, Companies and Networks are supported to implement activities that are innovative and complementary to WACOMP’s objectives.

Aaron Adu, Managing Director of the Global Shea Alliance, in a welcome speech, said that the training program was designed to identify different marketing approaches that companies can use without necessarily having to hire specialists such as social media experts, but leverage to influencers online to promote their products.

“Many entrepreneurs do not have an employee dedicated to marketing but they do it themselves. Therefore, this training will provide SMEs with the skills to do well and will also have the opportunity to reach a wider audience through digital marketing, ”he said.

Mr. Charles Kwame Sackey, Chief Technical Advisor of WACOMP – Ghana encouraged participants to make use of the skills that are affected through GSA in order to also connect with other markets virtually to increase their domestic sales and exports.

“It is the products we sell that make money and not those that are in the warehouses.” Therefore, WACOMP works with institutions to ensure that Ghanaian products meet various quality requirements and use the right brand and marketing channels to attract the right customers in both local and international markets and on various shelves of the world. market in supermarkets and stores, ”he said.