Public Agenda (Accra)
Irene J. Mensah
12 March 2010
The African Aurora Business Network (AABN) in collaboration with Indigenous Caterers' Association of Ghana (ICAG) is organizing a training workshop for ICAG members in Accra.
Dubbed "EATbiz - Empowering the Traditional Caterer" the workshop seeks to empower women in traditional eateries or the "chop bar" sector to improve upon the quality of their businesses and lives by building their capacities.
The EATbiz project is a series of training workshops to develop the skills of about 2000 traditional caterers in customer service, business management and food safety. By so doing, Eatbiz hopes to create additional employment for the community.
The programme is being supported by the World Bank and Ministry of Trade and Industry MSME Project. Other sponsors include GhanaNational Chamber of Commerce, Sunripe Food Processing Ltd., Lifebrigde Foundation, Ministry of Food and Agriculture among others.
Mr. Salathiel Doe Amegavie, President of Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) who chaired the programme said that the Chamber, of which ICAG was a member, was soliciting for funds to the support members of ICAG. He was of the hope that the members will benefit from the training workshop.
He also suggested that ICAG should be at the forefront of any food programme organized in the country. "All tourist and visitors to the country should eat our local food and watch the traditional festivals," he stressed.
He expressed delight that ICAG's partnering of AABN would improve the skills of its members.
Mr. Francis Djangamah, Secretary to ICAG said, the association is an umbrella body for micro and small scale food caterers, popularly known as "chop bar" operators.
Both in the government and non-governmental sectors, the ICAG member network exhibits an illiteracy rate of between 60-70% well above the national average of 42%. ICAG was formed in 2004 with over 2000 members in five regions across the country. They are Greater Accra, Central, Ashanti, Volta Western regions.
He said that even though the association faces significant barriers to growth due to limited finances, it has achieved a lot since its inception and is determined to break down those barriers.
The president of ICAG, Mrs. Edith Addo who spoke on the EATbiz project encouraged the caterers to take the opportunity created by the workshop and learn very well from their trainers.
"As we mark the international women's day" hope more women would join the association to also benefit from their training programmes".
Launching the programme, Mrs. Juliana Arhin, CEO of Lifebrigde foundation, a non governmental organization, advised the women to be health conscious, customer friendly and also to keep their environment clean.
AABN is a market oriented enterprise development organization that empowers micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) through strategic partnerships, capacity building, technical assistance and advisory services.
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