Background

This article argues for significant attention to be given to the growth and development of Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) in Ghana through human resource development in legal education.

It highlights the novel opportunities given under the MSME LAW programme (LL.M/MA) at the University of Ghana Law School to both legal and non-legal scholars, and practitioners to building a sustainable MSME sector to anchor the growth of the Ghanaian economy.

The history behind the celebration of World MSME Day dates back to 2017 when the United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated 27th June every year for the celebration of MSMEs.

The day was set aside to bring to the fore, issues and concerns about the value of MSMEs in the development of economies across the globe. It is a day set aside to raise awareness on the significant contributions of the enterprises sector towards the attainment of the Agenda 2020 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

By a UN General Assembly resolution in April 2017, the MSME day was first celebrated on 27th June, 2017, and has since become a feature on the annual calendar of the UN and many nations.

Some have rightly argued that the designation of the day was long overdue considering the long standing contribution of MSMEs to the global economy.

The day is therefore regarded as honouring the role played by the various enterprises in achieving the SDGs. Since 2017, the day has been celebrated under various themes such as:

1. 2017: The Dynamic Contribution of MSMEs to the Global Economy.
2. 2018: The Youth Dimension
3. 2019: Big Money For Small Business: Financing the SDGs.
4. 2020: Covid-19: The Great Lockdown and its Impact on Small Business.
5. 2021: The Key to an Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery.
6. 2022: Resilience and Rebuilding: MSMEs for Sustainable Development.
7. 2023: Building a Stronger Future Together.

This year, the theme for the day was Leveraging Power and Resilience of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) to accelerate Sustainable Development and Eradicate Poverty in Times of Multiple Crises, and thus, underscores the role of the MSME sector in achieving SDG 1 despite the unpredictable global economic and social circumstances.

The various themes over the last few years of the celebration reflect the overall concerns and awareness level on the growth of MSMEs and their contribution to the local economic development and the global recognition of MSMEs to the international trade and sustainable development. In sum, the themes speak to the prospects and challenges of MSMEs generally.

Owing to the significant neglect and lack of awareness about the prospects and challenges of the MSME industry, the day was set aside to among others; raise awareness about the contribution of MSMEs to the global economy; highlight the significant successes achieved by MSMEs in many economies; to solicit support for the development of that sector; to echo the contribution of MSMEs to the SDGs; to highlight key policy interventions for the growth MSMEs; and to educate the public on the MSMEs.

In many jurisdictions, the day is celebrated under the auspices of the government’s agencies and supervising ministries by undertaking and promoting activities such as networking, workshops and training forums, trade expos and fairs, public lectures and awareness campaigns, showcase of government initiatives, programmes and projects.

Private sector and media involvements have always been central as expected through sponsored and tailored programmes manifesting in week-long or a day programme.

The Legal Environment and Classifications of Enterprises in Ghana
What constitutes an MSME is fast becoming a challenge. This is because the definition by
various stakeholders tend to be too general to take into account the heterogeneous nature of
MSMEs in a country. The multiplicity of MSME definitions make MSME policy development
and analysis virtually random interventions.

Ghana Enterprises Agency Act, 2020 (Act 1043)

 Act 1043 established the Ghana Enterprise Agency to regulate, promote and develop
MSMEs.
 The Act repealed the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) Act, 1981, (Act
434) and the Ghanaian Enterprises Development Act, 1975 (NRCD 330).
 The Act provides the institutional and legal framework for the coordination and promotion of
programmes and projects for the development of the MSME sector in Ghana.
 The “Agency” facilitates technology transfer; training; and access to financial and non-financial resources, and professional services to MSMEs.
 Section 3 (c) provided for determining the criteria for the classification of MSMEs.
 Sections 32 & 33 deferred the threshold for the classifications to a Regulation by the
Minister of Trade, hence L.I. 2470.
To classify MSMEs, one must consider such as expansion in the size of the economy, population
growth, advancement in technology, globalization, etc. It is therefore, commendable that, two
years after experimenting with the MSMEs Classification Regulation, 2021, there has been a
review culminating into Ghana Enterprises Agency (Micro, Small and Medium-sized
Enterprises) Regulations, 2023 (L.I. 2470).

Contribution and Challenges of MSMEs to National Development
Regrettably, unlike other days commemorated by the UN and the world, the MSME day receives
little or no attention by many countries including Ghana as would be expected despite the
enormous contributions made by MSMEs to the economy in the areas of employment generation,
poverty alleviation, innovation, inclusive economic growth, creativity and decent work for all.
The lips service by governments and responsible agencies in Ghana to MSMEs is not just
paradoxical but the bane of the country’s development paradigm.

The contribution of MSMEs cannot be overemphasized in any economy. Research and empirical
data have established the critical role played by MSMEs in all economies of the world, including
developed countries. For instance, in the US, it is estimated that nearly 550,000 businesses are
launched each month. Out of this figure about 97% of them are small businesses. (Note that
small businesses are defined variously…there are over 800 definitions of a small business based
on industry category.)

Among them include, but not limited to contribution to GDP growth, employment avenues and
generation, export and import growth in international trade, entrepreneurial development, food
security, foreign exchange generation.

Despite being the livewire of the economy, MSMEs are bedeviled with the most outrageous,
albeit surmountable hurdles. The enormous challenges to MSME growth and development have
been as well researched and espoused in much literature. In Ghana, the most common challenges
include access to funding and sustainable alternative financing, a shortage of skilled workers,
competition from large businesses, complex regulations, and high taxes.

It is significant to single out the lack of formal and certified education as one of the key challenges to the growth of MSMEs which is often regretted due to the erroneous impression that MSME management
requires no such qualification to succeed.

I posit that this is a significant hiatus, hence the intervention offered to interested stakeholders at the various managerial and legal positions in MSME ecosystem at the University of Ghana Law School.

MSMEs education in Ghana/The MSME Law at Legon.
So far, there is no known course on MSMEs offered at the undergraduate or bachelor level of
education in Ghana. I would emphasize that, entrepreneurial education or courses are not same
and may not be construed as MSME education in form or substance in this sense. While MSME
is rarely taught as a course in many jurisdictions as a bachelor's degree, few universities have
found the need to offer it at the post-graduate level as “Enterprise Development and Innovation”
model.
It is in this sense that the introduction of MSME Law programme at the University of Ghana
Law School presents a welcoming curriculum intervention to the legal profession as well as
management professionals in the MSME ecosystem to be upgraded and certified to offer
practical legal and managerial solutions to the teething challenges of MSMEs.

This programme designed comprehensively to offer extensive curriculum on the legal, theoretical and practical knowledge underpinning strategy, innovation, development, growth and management of
MSMEs, is offered to graduates with or without basic legal qualifications.

It is a regular one-year programme embracing both intensive lectures (face-to-face/online) and dissertation/long essay writing. It is designed to be taught by a mixed of qualified legal professionals, academics, and experienced industry players through taught courses, seminars and symposia. Upon successful completion, a graduate may be awarded either an LL.M (MSME LAW) or MA (MSME LAW)
depending on the entry qualification.

The various models offered as both core and elective courses make the programme one of most enterprising programmes ever introduced by the law school under its post-graduate degrees. Ways to Overcome the Problems of MSME
In order to overcome the challenges faced by MSMEs under the current economic conditions, the
following are feasibly policy interventions to consider:

 Industrial training and technical education to improve the quality of goods and services
supplied from enterprises to the market.
 The legislative environment to be improved to encourage entrepreneurship.
 Regular evaluation of strategic plans and programmes assess the performance and
effectiveness of their SMEs.
 Improvement in infrastructure such as quality roads and transportation system.
 Government to should work to reduce financial problems and promote soft loan facilitation
to MSMEs with a single-window clearance system for credit disbursement.
 Government should take positive steps to reduce the tax burden, licensing fee, effective tax
policy, and increase subsidies.
 Utility charges to MSMEs , especially in the value-added chain in rural areas, which helps
to create an effective environment for the MSMEs growth should be reduced.
 Government should facilitate and implement free and easy-to-access programmes that will
help MSMEs to enter the global market (e.g. training on marketing skills and strategies,
knowledge transfer, and entrepreneurial motivation).
 Policymakers are suggested to reduce the gender gap and promote women’s
entrepreneurship as they face huge problems beyond male entrepreneurs operating MSMEs.

Conclusion
June 27 must prompt us to celebrate the invaluable contributions of MSMEs to the growth of the
Ghanaian economy. By reviewing the prospects offered by the celebration of the MSME Day on
27th June every year, the author revisited the usual features, importance and challenges
associated with the MSME ecosystem.

While revisiting the contributions of MSMEs as justification for the Day, it is imperative to also reflect on the challenges of the sector by offering ideas on how to support and nurture MSMEs through effective industrial strategy, policies options, and sustainable access to capital, technology adoption and capacity building initiatives.

Thus, this article briefly highlighted the intervention offered by formal and legal education for
the sustainable growth and development of MSMES in developing economies such as Ghana.

It focused on the post-graduate level education offered at the University of Ghana Law School as a
novel intervention requiring not just the state’s support but the patronage and access by
stakeholders to develop the human resource capacities to manage and grow the sector as a pivot
for economic emancipation.

(The author is a Lecturer, Faculty of Law, University of Cape Coast; Lecturer of MSME Law at the University of Ghana School of Law; Founder, Centre for African Trade and Investment Policies, Ghana; francis.korankyesakyi@ucc.edu.gh; www.catipsghana.com)