By Gloria Anderson
The Compete Ghana Programme, under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, has organized an orientation workshop on the Enterprise Export Enhancement Programme (EEEP), aimed at encouraging companies/enterprises to export to the EU markets.
The Compete Ghana Programme is part of the technical assistance offered to the Ministry of Trade and Industry as part of the Ghana-EU Economic Partnership Agreement.
In recognition of the need for improved competitiveness of Ghana’s exports as well as an expansion of production and supply of goods for export, the Technical Assistance Team of the Compete Ghana Programme has designed and commenced implementation of the “Enterprise Export Enhancement Programme (EEEP) for the EU market.
The EEEP is an end-to-end programme providing training and individual handholding assistance to selected private export enterprises. The Programme focuses primarily on improving the potential of non-traditional product exporters.
The orientation workshop held at the Coconut Grove Hotels in Accra, on May 16, 2023, saw in attendance seventy (70) enterprises, where the participants were first provided an awareness of the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and its opportunities for Ghanaian businesses.
Mr.Nicloas Gebara, Team Leader, of the technical assistance team reiterated that the Compete Ghana Programme is an initiative funded by the EU, designed to maximize opportunities for Ghana’s exports to the EU market.
He said, “as the key implementer of the EPA, Ministry of Trade and Industry is keen to monitor the implementation of the EPA as well as guide and support the expansion and diversification of Ghanaian exports to EU markets.
“This means there is a need to increase the drive towards the realization of the country’s enormous export potential, thereby making the agreement beneficial for the country in the long run,” he added.
Mr. Nicolas Gebara thanked participants and encouraged them to take advantage of the opportunities created by the EPA and stressed that the programme will be a success when there is an increase in value-added “Made in Ghana” products on the EU market.
Mr. Gerald Nyarko-Mensah, Key Expert (Marketing and Exports) of the Technical Assistance Team Compete Ghana, said one of the primary outcomes of the programme was the ‘improvement of competitiveness at firm level’, especially through a clusters’ approach, and to ultimately recognize the need for improved competitiveness of Ghana’s exports and expansion of production and supply of goods for export at the EU market.
Subsequently, the participants were educated on the essence of EEEP and its associated primary features such as the eligibility criteria needed for a company/enterprise to apply and be shortlisted, and the modalities to the completion of the application forms.
In order, to create a levelled playing field for all prospective beneficiary selected enterprises an online application process was set up for enterprises to complete, as an initial step towards the final selection.
He said the EEEP would select up to 40 enterprises for individual handholding and indicated that though preference was for enterprises with products from top priority non-traditional export list.
The candidate companies were identified and recommended by the implementation partners including Ghana Export Promoting Authority, Ghana Enterprise Agency, Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industries, Association of Ghana Industries and the Federation of Association of Ghana Exporters.
Participants from various product sectors showed strong interest in the opportunities offered by Compete Ghana Programme and over 90% of enterprises present subsequently successfully submitted their applications to be part of the EEEP.
