Assessing the Performance of Small-Scale Industries in the Tamale Metropolis in the Northern Region of Ghana

Abstract

This study assessed the performance of small-scale industries (SSIs) in the Tamale Metropolis of the northern region. Simple random sampling technique was used to sample one hundred and sixty (160) respondents who were administered with questionnaires. Out of the 160 respondents, 154 of them responded to the questionnaire constituting a response rate of 96%. On the effects of insufficient finance on the performance of SSIs, most of the respondents used their own personal savings to set-up their industries with a few getting financial support from government agencies such as National Board for small scale industries (NBSSI), GRATIS Project, Technology Transfer Centre, and Ghana Enterprises Development Commission and banks. The results also revealed that lack of finance was the major constrain to the growth of SSIs. Again on the effect of managerial skills on the performance of SSIs, many of the respondents indicated that their industries are been managed by their own boss with employees as supporting staff and that cost of equipment/raw materials were the major obstacles that management team of SSIs face. In investigating the effects of inadequate equipment and technology of SSIs, most of the respondents indicated that they could not buy the required equipment and use ICT and advance technology in the operations of their firms. Only 20.8% of the respondents had access to technical support (training) and many of them too have not registered or acquired the appropriate license for their operations. The study recommended that government agencies like NBSSI, GRATIS Project, and Technology Transfer Centre should assist owners of SSIs to buy the required equipment to grow their firms. There should also be frequent technical support training programmes to help SSIs owners and encourage them to register and acquire the appropriate license for their operations.