Embrace technology to remain relevant:• Vodafone CEO tells SMEs

The Chief Executive Officer of Vodafone Ghana, Mr Haris Broumidis, has advised small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to fully embrace technology as an asset if they want to stay relevant in the modern business world.

This, he said, had become necessary because technology had taken centre stage and was fast changing the face and pace of business activities.

“The world has gone mobile. Technology has taken centre stage and it is only technology that can be an enabler to capture the opportunities that come out of the global trends. Embrace it because it is the only asset you have if you want to stay relevant,” he said.

He was speaking at the second Vodafone Africa SME Summit in Accra. The annual event is organised by Creative Trends, an events and public relations company. The 2015 edition was on the theme, “Dreaming Africa.”

The use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) to do business , over the years, has helped increase business efficiency and aided in the expansion of business operations, for those who are able to fully utilise it.

While encouraging SMEs to embrace technology, Mr Broumidis said there was the need for reliable connectivity and data to enable them to access the Internet to reach out to their clients.

Access to the Internet, he explained, would help maintain a positive reputation for the business since quick response would show that the business was accessible, timely and professional.

There is hope

Mr Broumidis said SMEs all over the world were facing challenges in their operations. That notwithstanding, there was hope for the sector.

“There are several challenges relating to high interest rates, lack of access to finance, increasing cost of doing business and reliable energy supply. However, the ambitions of a lot of entrepreneurs must grow because there is energy and there is hope,” he added.

Shepherding SMEs

The Country Manager of Invest in Africa (IAA), Mr Sam Brandful, who also spoke at the forum, said IAA had secured funds from the African Development Bank (AfDB) to build the capacity of SMEs across key sectors.

Under its Business Linkage Programme (BLP), he explained that SMEs would benefit from practical business skills and management training to enable them to raise their standards and deliver goods and services on time, and at the quality required by their clients.

He said the African Partner Pool (APP), an online database of investors, buyers and local businesses that seek to create opportunities that could be harnessed for mutual gains, was an intervention that linked SMEs to big buyers to enable them to grow.

Some of the current large buyers on the APP include Ecobank, UT Bank, Tullow Ghana, EY, Lonrho, AB & David, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited, General Electric, Newmont Ghana and the Millennium Development Authority (MiDA).

Currently, there are over 900 local SMEs registered on the APP and this number, he said, was projected to grow to 1,000 by the end of 2015. —GB