SCORE Training for the One-District-One-Factory (1D1F) Programme in Ghana

ACCRA (ILO News): To sustain the delivery of ILO SCORE Project interventions in Ghana, the project currently in its third phase of implementation has been exploring ways to mainstream SCORE into SME policies and programmes of the Government of Ghana as well as extend training to SMEs in productive sectors nationwide. With the declaration of the Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) Honourable Robert Ahomka-Lindsay at the 18th National Tripartite Advisory Committee (NTAC) meeting of the SCORE Ghana Project on 24th June, 2020; the government of Ghana expressed its desire to integrate SCORE modules in productive sectors of the country. In his address, the Hon. Minister expressed the need to improve the practices of the over 100 enterprises that are operating under the 1D1F to enhance their productivity and competitiveness.

To show his commitment to this cause, on 29th June 2020, the Minister organized another meeting that was attended by the Head of the 1D1F Programme, the Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), and officials of the ILO from Ghana, Abuja and Geneva. The purpose of this meeting was to forge a collaboration among these parties and coordinate their efforts to deliver the SCORE training to SMEs in Ghana. He therefore tasked the head of the 1D1F Programme at MOTI to work closely with the ILO SCORE team in Ghana to roll out the training to enterprises.

The Hon. Minister also emphasized the need for ILO to support the NBSSI to embed best business development practices and strengthen their service delivery to SMEs. He noted the need to harmonise the SCORE Programme with others with similar content such as the JICA Kaizen Project to allow for a coordinated intervention approach which would be much more effective in delivering services to SMEs. The ILO was also requested to support the training of selected officers of NBSSI in the SCORE methodology.

In her contribution, the Executive Director of NBSSI, Kosi Yankey added that working closely with the ILO to extend SCORE training to SMEs was a good approach as the agency had received request for training by several enterprises. Michael Elkin, the Manager of the ILO SCORE Programme at the Head Quarters, Geneva, provided a background of the SCORE Global Programme, outlined the services in Ghana, and provided assurances of ILO’s commitment to collaborate with the Government of Ghana and the key partners to promote the SCORE Programme. Also discussed during the meeting was the sustainability of the SCORE Ghana Project beyond donor funding during its third phase.

It is worth noting that, these developments herald a new phase of SCORE that looks at deepening collaborations with the Government of Ghana and public institutions to embed SCORE training into their programmes and sustain its delivery for SME development in Ghana.

The NTAC meeting which was held virtually was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Employment and Labour Relations, Trade Unions, Ghana Employers Association, Implementing Partners, donors and the ILO.

SCORE PROJECT

The SCORE Ghana Project is currently in its third phase of implementation was launched in 2011 with funding from State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) of Switzerland and Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD). During Phase I, SCORE was mostly active in the Accra and Tema Metropolitan areas, facilitating training to enterprises that serve domestic and regional markets with pharmaceutical, food and metal products. During Phase II, the Project extended its services to suppliers in the oil and gas sectors and to Central, Western and Brong Ahafo regions. In the current phase (Phase III), SCORE is extending its services to SMEs in the hotel and tourism industry. As at January, 2020, 208 enterprises had received SCORE training in Ghana. Key achievements of the training include increased productivity, cost reduction, improved delivery time, better working conditions, less waste, less defects and safer working environment for SMEs.