AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine in collaboration with the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), has organised a two-day training on pandemic preparedness for Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) in Obuasi. According to the GIZ, SMEs are one of the most important, yet vulnerable drivers of development in Sub-Saharan Africa. This is due to the fact that while they are known for supporting over 50 per cent of all livelihoods on the continent (both formal and informal), they often face a plethora of risks that regularly put their survival and continuous operations in jeopardy. The case of SMEs in Obuasi and other parts of the country is not different considering the difficulties they faced during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. The training was, therefore, to prevent SMEs in Obuasi from succumbing to the shocks of a major pandemic or challenge and improve their resilience. The beneficiaries were mainly suppliers who have been in business with AngloGold Ashanti. Mr John Arkoh Mensah of the University of Ghana who facilitated the training, said most SMEs felt the full brunt of COVID-19 due to lack of plan towards unforeseen contingencies. He said, 'Pandemic comes in different forms not only diseases. It could be fire outbreaks or any major setbacks, but we believe that with this training, players in the SME sector in Obuasi will be in a pole position to withstand any predicament. If they can withstand a pandemic, they can equally deal with epidemic.' Beneficiaries of the training program who spoke with the media lauded AngloGold Ashanti and GIZ for the training. They revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on their businesses resulting in several losses and staff lay-offs. Ms. Joyce Owusu, a trader, said the training programme had come at an opportune time when SMEs were still counting their losses and trying to pick up the pieces. 'This training has really helped us, we have been trained on how to plan ahead of any emergency that might befall our businesses,' she noted.

Source: Ghana News Agency