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EDC supports SMEs in oil sector

  • SOURCE: | qwesa2big
  • By : Jessica Acheampong

    The Project Coordinator at the Enterprise Development Centre (EDC), Mr Gameli Kumasi, has urged Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) operating in the country’s oil sector to take advantage of various training programmes provided by the Centre to build their capacity.

    That, he said, would enable them to match up the stringent requirements needed for them to win contracts from the International Oil Companies (IOCs).

    Currently, most of the SMEs fall short of the standards of the IOCs in the procurement process, a gap, he said, the EDC was working to bridge through coaching and mentoring.

    “When you talk about the capacity of the SMEs, we are looking at their ability to navigate around the prequalification process. We realise there is a gap here that needs to be filled and that is why we take them through the processes. Through the training programmes, we hope to build their capacity effectively to be able to respond to procurement requests,” he said in an interview on January 6.

     

    The unstructured nature of SMEs in the country makes it difficult for them to have a clearly defined environmental, health and safety measures in place, as well as the technical and commercial expertise to execute contracts.

    The EDC, he said, was however limited in the role it could  play to help SMEs win contracts because the centre was only to guide them in responding to the procurement requests of the IOCs, and not deciding the content of their proposals.

    “For instance, when Tullow comes to us with a procurement notice, we recommend companies that are registered with us to provide the needed services. They are, however, supposed to respond to standard questions to be able to go through the prequalification process,” he said.

    “What we do is to mentor and coach the SMEs to enhance their chances of securing contracts in the petroleum industry, but it will largely depend on them be able to write winning proposals. All we can do is to guide them at that stage and this is why our training programmes are very requisite.”

    The passage of the Local Content Law, (LI 2204, 2013) required multi-national oil companies to give some percentage of contracts in the petroleum sector to local enterprises in order to promote local participation.

    The EDC, which is a government initiative, was subsequently launched in 2013 to provide support to Ghanaian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to position them to take advantage of business opportunities in the oil and gas sector.

     Progress so far

    With over 380 registered SMEs, the EDC, he said, had organised series of training programmes for a number of SMEs in the oil sector.

    In October 2015, 19 SMEs were taken through a course on budgeting and financial management, 23 were also taken through spreadsheet business applications in November, while 34 went through a training programme on business planning for small enterprises. In December, 21 SMEs also gained knowledge on managing information using database.

    Asked how the EDC, monitors the progress of its training programmes, Mr Kumasi said, “we monitor the success or progress of our training programmes and other EDC services through field visits and assessments.

    He added, “However, the ultimate key performance indicator of our capacity development efforts is the result or outcome of the participation of the SMEs in procurement processes, that is prequalification and tender.” — GB

    Source: http://graphic.com.gh/business/business-news/56095-edc-supports-smes-in-oil-sector.html#sthash.i0kO6MPK.dpuf

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