Good packaging key for going global

A consultant for the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme (WAAPP) under the World Bank, Mr Kow Sam, has asked Ghanaian companies to concentrate more on proper and innovative packaging of their products.

That he said, would position them well to penetrate the international market and compete with other firms.

Speaking at the African Youth Agripreneurship Programme (AYAP) seminar organised by TechnoServe in Accra, Mr Sam said one of major reasons why Ghanaian firms, especially those in the manufacturing sector,continuously found it difficult to penetrate the international market was their packaging.

He said there was the need for young Ghanaian firms to have an innovative design team that had the know-how to develop appealing designs that could attract the consumer, adding that 80 per cent of products consumed were from the outlook and, therefore, companies must do well to add more to the packaging of their products.

Mr Sam said multinational companies that had achieved so much and continued to gain more grounds were doing so because of their appealing packaging.

“If your products fail to get the attention of the people, you are in for big trouble,” he added.

Elsewhere in the developed countries, Mr Sam observed, companies spent so much in packaging their products to suit their brands, adding, “people love to associate themselves with solid brands.”

He commended the management of TechnoServe and urged them to continue to invest in entrepreneurs in the country.

AYAP seminar

The AYAP seminar, held in Accra, provided about 65 entrepreneurs selected with the opportunity to network.

AYAP is a programme implemented by TechnoServe with funding and support from Barclays Bank with the aim of equipping enterprising youth operating in the agriculture value chains with valuable technical and business skills development.

According the Deputy Country Director of TechnoServe, Mr Samuel Baba Adongo, the programme would help stimulate start-ups with high growth potential, while accelerating the growth of existing businesses in this field.

He noted that the programme was implemented in Ghana and three other African countries, namely Kenya, Mozambique and South Africa.