Ghana is seeking to make the Kaizen approach to continuous improvement a permanent service for businesses after a four-year UNIDO programme supported more than 200 enterprises to improve productivity, product quality and operational efficiency.
Deputy Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Sampson Ahi said the UNIDO Kaizen Expansion Project, which began in 2022, had demonstrated the value of the Japanese management philosophy in strengthening the performance and competitiveness of Ghanaian micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Speaking on behalf of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry Minister Elizabeth Ofosu-Adjare at the project’s closing ceremony in Accra on Wednesday, Ahi urged the Ghana Enterprises Agency to build on the gains and expand Kaizen as a permanent service to enterprises across the country.
He said the closure of the project should not mark the end of the Kaizen movement, urging participating businesses to regard it as an ongoing discipline for improving processes, products and workplace practices rather than as a one-time training programme.
The push comes as the government seeks to strengthen the productivity and competitiveness of MSMEs, with the sector also viewed as important to its efforts to create jobs.
Labour, Jobs and Employment Minister Emmanuel Kwadwo Agyekum called for the Kaizen approach to be extended to the public sector, saying continuous improvement has relevance beyond enterprise productivity.
He said the approach should also support workforce development, skills and job creation.
Agyekum said Kaizen should be linked to measurable targets, workforce well-being and skills that respond to the needs of industry.
He stressed the importance of SMEs to the government’s job-creation efforts, linking improvements in enterprise performance with broader workforce and employment objectives.
The Ambassador of Japan to Ghana reaffirmed Japan’s commitment to supporting Ghana’s sustainable and inclusive economic development and described Kaizen as more than a management concept.
He said it represents a way of thinking and working, while congratulating UNIDO, the Ghana Enterprises Agency, the Ministry of Trade, Agribusiness and Industry and participating MSMEs on the completion of the project.
The ambassador expressed hope that businesses would continue applying the knowledge and practices gained through the programme and that opportunities would be explored to scale up the initiative to reach more enterprises.
