The Ghana Standards Authority has urged Small, Medium and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) to seek early expert advice from the authority and register products in line with the laws of the country.
This follows a Citi Business News report that, a lot of small medium enterprises and start-ups do not obtain certification from the Ghana Standards Authority and other regulatory agencies.
According to the Authority, seeking expert advice will reduce the rate at which some businesses obtain fake certification for their operations.
Speaking at a workshop organized by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI) in Koforidua, to sensitize some business owners in the region, the Eastern Regional Director of the Ghana Standards Authority, Mr Eric Asamoah, called on members of AGI to go through the right procedure to get their products registered.
“Standardization is important. These unlawful activities of some business owners in the region are going on because some business owners do not go through the right process. That has contributed to their slow growth and lack of international recognition. We know it is a bit of a challenge because it takes some time to get through the process. We are hoping that government will construct a laboratory here to enhance smooth operations,” he said.
The Vice-Chair of AGI of the Eastern, Volta and Oti regions, Mrs. Lucy Tenkorang called on government and the Ghana Standards Authority to review registration processes for start-ups and members to get their products easily registered and certified.
“This is a bit worrisome. They are all starting from a smaller scale and staring from that low key, you need to get money to invest in order to go through the process. Like we discussed earlier, we have to buy the standard from which comes at a cost. So we are pleading with government to reduce the prices for starters so that they will be able to standardize their products,” she said.
