The Association of Small-Scale Industries (ASSI), in collaboration with the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), has organised a mentorship and coaching programme to strengthen the capacity of trade association executives in the Eastern Region.
The programme, held in Koforidua, brought together executives from various trade associations across the 33 municipalities and districts in the region.
The participants included chairpersons, vice chairpersons, secretaries and organisers of the respective associations.
Mr Abdallah Samari, General Secretary of ASSI, said the programme formed part of the Business in a Box (BizBox) Project being implemented by the GEA with support from the Mastercard Foundation.
He said the project sought to strengthen the capacity of industry players and support the development of sustainable businesses.
Mr Samari said the BizBox Project focused on equipping young people with vocational and business management skills, providing tools and starter kits for their trades, connecting new micro-businesses to buyers, and supporting business registration and certification.
Mr Christian Balagi, National President of ASSI, said the mentorship and coaching programme was designed to promote personal development, strengthen leadership capacity and improve workplace performance.
He explained that while mentoring provided long-term career guidance and support, coaching focused on short-term skills development.
He said combining the two approaches could help address skills gaps, improve job satisfaction and enable businesses to retain skilled personnel.
Mr Balagi described mastercraft persons in the Eastern Region as a critical link in the industrial sector, particularly because of their role in training apprentices who would eventually become mastercraft persons.
“We are here to take them through mentoring and coaching. We have observed that in our various workshops, we only end at the stage of coaching and do not continue mentoring the apprentices after they have left us. We want to change that trend,” he said.
He urged mastercraft persons and artisans to embrace innovation and continuously upgrade their skills to remain competitive in the changing business environment.
“If you are not innovative, you are out of business. To all artisans across board, the encouragement is that we should not stop learning. Keep learning and be abreast with the times so that we will not be out of business,” he said.
Mr Alfred Yaw Kissi, Eastern Regional Chairman of ASSI, said although formal mentorship was relatively new within the association, it remained an important component of the programme.
He said mentorship provided experienced industry players with an opportunity to transfer valuable knowledge, skills and experience to others.
Mr Kissi said the initiative would strengthen professional relationships, promote knowledge sharing and contribute to building stronger and more supportive business communities in the region.
Mr Lord-Lucas Vodzi, a Chartered Environmentalist and facilitator for the programme, said effective mentorship required open communication and a safe learning environment.
He urged mentors to set clear goals and responsibilities, establish expectations, and build trust and rapport with their mentees.
Mr Vodzi said many artisans in Ghana were not sufficiently exposed to modern business practices and therefore needed to adapt to the increasingly dynamic and global nature of commerce.
“Today’s business world is dynamic and global; you can work from anywhere,” he said.
He encouraged artisans to move beyond relying solely on their physical shops and build professional networks across regions to expand their markets and increase their earnings.
Ms Adelaide Asantewa, New Juaben South Municipal Secretary of the Ghana Hairdressers and Beauticians Association (GHABA), said women in the industry sometimes encountered misunderstandings and conflicts when working together.
She said the training had equipped participants with the emotional maturity and interpersonal skills needed to manage such challenges and promote teamwork.
“We must ensure we connect with one another and embrace teamwork to improve our businesses,” she said.
Ms Asantewa also encouraged members to mentor colleagues who lacked particular skills to ensure that practitioners across the industry could provide quality services.
