Google's SME Internet Evolution | Business Guide Newspaper

From left: Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Mutala Mumuni, Rashid Alhassan and some staff of Google after the interview

Today the internet, as we all know, has become one excellent portal for information gathering and a place where companies can make themselves and their businesses known. In the current internet evolution, if you do not bring your business online, you will be out of business.

Many entrepreneurs are beginning to realize the importance of the internet in boosting the products and services as well as increasing their profits.

To help Small and Medium-scale Enterprises (SMEs) take advantage of internet to boost their businesses, Google Ghana, through its ?Africa Get Your Business Online? initiative, has succeeded in getting over 3,000 businesses to build their websites.

The initiative, which was launched in January, this year, is aimed at transforming the Ghanaian SME landscape while targeting over 10,000 businesses online in the next two years.

Estelle Akofio-Sowah, Google Ghana?s Country Manager, in an exclusive interview with CITY & BUSINESS GUIDE said, ?We believe that the power of the internet will help small businesses in Ghana to thrive by bringing more local information online, and making that information more accessible and useful to Ghanaians.?

She added that ?Africa Get Your Business Online? is meant to have a positive impact on the economy by bringing thousands of businesses online.

She said having a website is as important for a business today as having a phone because customers are looking online for business information.
She noted that the initiative, which is free and easy to use, allows the business owner to build the website and update it.

?So for instance if the SME has a special promotion and wants to get it online, he/she does not need to wait for a webmaster to help with that they can make those changes to their website themselves,? Ms Akofio-Sowah emphasised.

She said the website has been designed to have notification via SMS so if someone visits a website the business owner gets an SMS and can interact with the person.

She indicated that Google has been working with associations like Ghana Association of Women Entrepreneurs (GAWE), National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Ministry of Trade and Industries and some banks to reach out to the SMEs.

?Working with business associations and organizations that target and support SMEs is how we plan to reach more people,? she emphasised.

Ms Akofio-Sowah indicated that the website is not meant to solve problems of SMEs over night, but it is a necessary step that SMEs need to take if they want to reach out to both Ghanaian and international markets.

With the website, businesses will be listed on Google Maps ? a common tool widely used for finding locations.

She entreated SMEs to take the bold step and go to www.getafricaonline.com and start building their own websites.

She also appealed to government to continue to focus on addressing internet access issues and other challenges SMES face in order to capitalize on the potential of the digital economy.
Mutala Mumuni, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Veilim Smocks Ghana Limited, an artifact dealer, said through Google?s initiative, he had been able to grow and expand his business.

He said ?when we started, we had challenges with people locating our business at Pig Farm, a suburb of Accra. Initially we thought having a shop was enough, but after using the website I have come to the realization that one can have a business without necessarily having a shop, because with the website you can do everything.?

He noted that before he heard about the initiative, his company was in the process of building a website but could not afford it because of the amount involved, and decided to take advantage of the initiative.

?We have cut down the cost of operations and saved a lot of money through the website because previously, we had to fuel our vehicle and roam with samples of our products to banks and institutions, but now these people see what they want and we deliver directly to them without having to move unnecessarily,? Mr. Mumuni added.

?Aunty Muni?s Waakye? a popular place noted for ?waakye? in Accra has also taken advantage of the programme.

?Waakye??is a very popular Ghanaian food, eaten as breakfast or lunch, made from rice, beans, and a spicy sauce of prawn and tomatoes.

Rashid Alhassan from ?Aunty Muni?s Waakye? said through the website, they can display pictures of their dishes for people to see.

He acknowledged that they sometimes get tourists who come to buy from them who say they got to know about them through their website.

He also called on other SMEs to take advantage of the initiative since it is free and convenient to use.

?By Esther Awuah

?

?

?

?

?

?

?

marco scutaro betty white ed reed football schedule jo paterno dead south carolina tuskegee airmen