The objective is to equip the participants with adequate knowledge on the African Partner Pool (APP) platform, an initiative of the IIA in partnership with Tullow Ghana Limited, as a one partner pool with several activities going one, to inform, enhance the skills and provide access to competitive tender processes for its members.

Ms Patricia Ayebah of the Indirect Category Lead of the Supply Chain Department, Tullow Ghana Limited, said the APP platform had been very beneficial to local SMEs and other businesses, such that they had the advantage of seeing all upcoming tenders for bidding so they could enter early for selection.

She said apart from that, Tullow offered periodic skills training for members on the platform to empower them to be able to compete favourable with their counterparts on the international market.

The APP platform, she said, had over the years, been very beneficial, citing the fact that it had facilitated the quick generation of tender lists for rapid due diligence to be carried out on suppliers.

It had also fostered great partnership with the SMEs and other businesses, she said.

She encouraged all local SMEs and businesses to register on the platform to be able to benefit from accessing upcoming tenders and effectively participating in bidding processes among many other activities.Mr Sam Brandful, the Ghana Manager of Invest in Africa, said the Company was established in 2012 to provide solutions to challenges, including the creation of sustainable cross-sector partnerships, empowering local enterprises, championing private sector-led growth and simplifying doing business in Africa.

He explained that as the originator of the APP, involved a partnership of companies from across sectors, working together to generate growth and economic development, create business opportunities and support job creation.   He explained that the APP was an online business portal located at www.africanpartnerpool.com that connected through their tenders, the supply chain requirements of large businesses, both Ghanaian and international, to local suppliers, mostly from the SME sector, he said.

He said the IIA also offered support to their business partners in three key areas; involving skills development, Market, and Financial access, and cited some companies and organisations in the APP.They include Newmont, Tullow Ghana Limited, Ecobank Ghana, UT Bank, Societe Generale Ghana and Guinness Ghana, adding that, they were still looking up to more institutions to join.

Ms Priscilla Ahiam, the Group Head, Energy and Public Sector of Societe Generale Ghana, said the partnership was strategic and a practical and effective channel to reach out to SMEs through financing, for them to be able to tap into the Ghanaian oil and gas sector.

She said the Bank remained focused to supporting Ghana’s local content on oil and gas to enhance the involvement of SMEs and other businesses and empower them to be able to deliver.