MTN Ghana has out-doored 'MTN Business SME Campaign' aimed at accelerating the digitisation of the informal sector through the lens of Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country.

The six months campaign will see some 10 MSMEs winning a Digital Business Make-over, which includes a year of free connectivity, set up on Hubtel e-commerce smartphone, digital advertising and services free business management application services.

Mr Selorm Adadevoh, Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, who launched the campaign in Accra, noted that the initiative would use the power of technology to create awareness of businesses such as retail shops and production hubs in the country.

It is on the theme: "MTN Business, Your Partner for Growth."

He stated, "We are embarking on this campaign because we believe everyone, including MSMEs, deserve the benefits of a modern connected life."

"With technology-based innovations such as e-Payments, business management suites, e-Commerce, Marketplace, Apps, to name a few, the achievement of modern connected life for MSMEs in Ghana will be greatly enhanced. We are confident that this campaign will yield the desired results".

The CEO indicated that as a result of the emergence of The African Continental Free Trade Area and the evolution of business globally, MSMEs in Ghana could no longer only focus on their immediate environment but were required to adapt and scale up to be competitive in markets outside borders.

Mr Adadevoh said MSMEs represented the power of entrepreneurship and that Ghana's GDP was largely driven by the output of that sector, emphasising that the growth of that economic segment was critical to the nation's development ambitions.

"It would interest you to know that MSMEs account for about 90 per cent of the world's companies, about 70 per cent of total employment, about 50 per cent of GDP, and are, therefore, the lifeblood of the world's economy," he said.

Mr Adadevoh said the company was investing a total of US$149 million in network expansion and modernisation this year to meet the demand for digital services from consumers and MSMEs.

Mr Alex Bram, the Chief Executive Officer of Hubtel, said both studies and practice had shown that the deployment of mobile technology of business resulted in productivity and convenience.

He mentioned over-dependence on cash, poor organisation of data about businesses, knowledge of customers of how to use the product, poor balancing of quality and growth, and lack of partnership as challenges facing businesses and urged entrepreneurs to pay attention to them.