He said the ambition of most businesses to grow rapidly often put them in a position that compelled them to adopt any strategy they deemed fit without examining its merits.

At the 2016 edition of the Vodafone African SME Summit in Accra, Professor Tsamenyi said “Most businesses want to grow and so they jump at any strategy or model they get without doing any proper analysis.”  

“Growth is very important but it just depends on how you manage it and this has to be done properly. This means you have to do it step by step,” Professor Tsamenyi, who is also a Professor of Management Practice in Accounting, said at the forum.

Other panelists including the Chief Executive Officer of Pharmanova Limited, Mr Dhananjay Tripathi, and the CEO of Tang Palace Hotel, Mr Tang Hong, alluded to the fact that growth was important for businesses but how it is managed effectively should be a priority of most Ghanaian SMES.  

Delegating responsibility

Mr Hong said business owners could not manage the entire business on their own, hence the need to delegate some responsibility to other players along the value chain.

In doing this, however, he said, the CEO must choose the right people, put them in the right place and monitor how they carry out the responsibilities.

“Trust is very important in doing all these. You cannot do all by yourself. As CEO you have to keep your mind fresh every day, so you can come up with strategies to grow the business,” he said.

Mr Tripathi, however, explained that being able to delegate responsibility and have it carried out effectively will depend on having the right people in place.

The SME summit

The 2016 edition of the summit, which is the third in the series, was on the theme, “Entrepreneurship - being a ready business.”

It brought together thought leaders in the business sector to engage in intelligent and insightful discussions, network, share and to broker deals.

The Convener of the conference, Mr Yaw Asamoah, also explained that the summit sought to create an environment which inspires, promotes innovation and gets delegates to discuss issues which impact individuals, their business, the community and human development.