SMEs urged to prioritise research
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Feniks Limited, a business consultancy company, Mrs Pearl Esua-Mensah, has urged small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) to prioritise research and prudent cash management in order to survive challenging economic conditions.
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“Operating cost challenges have increased significantly in recent times and have been the most difficult financial metric for SMEs to manage,” she said, and added that: “Energy crisis, high interest rates, high rent charges and depreciation of the cedi are among factors that hamper the growth of SMEs,” she said.
At the opening ceremony of a two-day international conference on business management and entrepreneurial development in Accra, she said SMEs ought to leverage modern technology and innovative business strategies to create a buoyant business environment.
Prudent management
“There is the need for SMEs to be disciplined in the management of cash by separating private expenses from business expenses. Some SMEs waste a lot of energy which increases their operational cost and throws them out of business. This can be stopped through discipline,” she said.
The Dean of the Faculty of Accounting and Finance at the University of Professional Studies (UPSA), Dr Charles Banor, said efficient management of human capital was key to the success of SMEs.
“Money is not the main reason why businesses succeed. It is the way you transform the money into resources to stir the growth of the business,” he said.
Dr Banor said it was important for all businesses to have a mission statement and ensure that all expenditures are geared towards fulfilling that mission.
He said tertiary institutions engaged in business education ought to equip students with practical entrepreneurial skills to enable them to start their own businesses.
The conference
The conference was organised by UPSA on the theme: “Remaining competitive amid rising cost of operations: the dilemma of SMEs.”
The annual international conference, which is the second of its kind by UPSA, brought together participants from academia and the business fraternity.
Mrs Esua-Mensah said the theme for the conference was relevant and observed that the way for SMEs to thrive in the competitive business environment was for them to build strong human resource capacity. She also urged them to adopt best practices that would stop wastage at all levels.