Selected Ghanaian small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), particularly those led by youth and women, have undergone intensive training to strengthen their capacity to participate effectively in intra-African trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The three-day capacity-building programme was organised through a collaboration between the United Nations Development Programme in Ghana, the Embassy of Japan in Ghana and the African Continental Free Trade Area National Coordination Office.
Held on the theme, “Unlocking Trade and Investment Opportunities in the Context of the AfCFTA,” the initiative aimed to equip SMEs with practical knowledge and tools to overcome barriers limiting their participation in the single African market.
Beyond classroom sessions, the programme created a Business-to-Business (B2B) engagement platform to promote trade linkages, technology transfer and potential investment partnerships among participating enterprises.
Participants were taken through key provisions and protocols of the AfCFTA agreement, updates on implementation progress, and the emerging opportunities available to SMEs.
Sessions also covered tariff liberalisation schedules, rules of origin requirements and the use of the AfCFTA e-tariff book to guide cross-border transactions.
In addition, facilitators trained the SMEs on how to develop bankable investment profiles and compelling pitches to attract financing.
Discussions further explored Ghana’s investment promotion policies, incentives under the AfCFTA framework and investor expectations within the intra-continental trade environment.
Mr Niloy Banerjee, Resident Representative of the UNDP in Ghana, said the training formed part of broader efforts to integrate Ghanaian SMEs into regional and global value chains.
“AfCFTA has huge potential, but we are not leveraging it fully yet, and that is the point of this exercise,” he said.
He noted that SMEs account for nearly 70 percent of private sector employment in Ghana, underscoring their central role in economic growth and job creation.
However, he stressed that persistent constraints particularly in customs processes, access to finance and market information continued to limit the participation of women and youth-led businesses in cross-border trade.
Mr Yoshimoto Hiroshi, Ambassador of Japan to Ghana, described the AfCFTA as a strategic opportunity for African countries to accelerate industrialisation, diversify exports and generate quality jobs through enterprise development and technology transfer.
He observed that despite the promise of the agreement, many Ghanaian SMEs still grappled with logistical inefficiencies and cumbersome customs procedures that undermine smooth cross-border commerce.
According to him, the training was designed to provide practical solutions to such challenges while empowering businesses to position themselves competitively within the continental market.
Mr Benjamin Kwaku Asiam, Acting Coordinator of Ghana’s AfCFTA National Coordination Office, said approximately 25 African countries had fully domesticated and gazetted the agreement into their national legal frameworks.
He emphasised that without equipping SMEs with the necessary knowledge and skills, the trade agreement risked remaining underutilised.
“Agreements are agreements if we don’t empower SMEs to move, it will just remain on the shelves. Capacity building is very important for SMEs to equip themselves to take advantage of the single African market,” he said.
He added that capacity development should be viewed not as an optional add-on, but as a fundamental pillar of economic transformation.
Participants welcomed the initiative, describing it as timely and practical.
Mrs Teresa Poku, owner of OHU Farms Limited, highlighted logistical constraints as a major threat to product quality and market access across African borders.
“Though implementation has been effected between countries, there are still bottlenecks because sometimes when you get to the border, customs becomes a very big problem,” she said.
She called for the establishment of complaint desks at border points to address cases of harassment and unnecessary delays.
Mrs Poku further noted that many small and micro enterprises lacked export readiness skills, making such training interventions critical.
“Most of us, though we are small and micro, what we actually need is training for export readiness, and that is what is being offered here today. I think it’s very useful for us,” she said.
The organisers expressed optimism that with sustained capacity building and policy support, Ghanaian SMEs would be better positioned to harness the vast opportunities presented by the AfCFTA and expand their footprint across the African market.
