Challenges

The West Africa Competitiveness Programme (WACOMP) – Ghana tackled major barriers hindering the competitiveness and growth of MSMEs in the cassava, fruits, and cosmetics value chains. Target MSMEs faced challenges such as limited market access, low compliance with quality and sustainability standards, weak value addition, and poor access to finance. These constraints impacted on their ability to scale, export, and contribute meaningfully to the country’s sustainable economic development. To overcome these issues, WACOMP-Ghana focused on strengthening quality infrastructure, enhancing institutional and technical capacities, and fostering inclusive and sustainable value chains. The project promoted collective efficiency by leveraging coordinated efforts among enterprises within clusters to boost productivity, competitiveness, and shared access to markets. Through cluster development, sustainable production practices, and improved market linkages, the programme supported progress toward SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth) and SDG 9 (Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure), empowering over 44,000 entrepreneurs—including nearly 32,000 women—to enhance quality, productivity, and market reach.

Toward a Solution

WACOMP-Ghana has tackled key barriers to competitiveness and market access by enhancing the productive and export capacities of Ghanaian MSMEs within the cassava, mango, pineapple, and cosmetics value chains. The initiative has employed a multi-faceted and participatory methodology—the 5Cs approach for competitiveness—anchored in cluster development, capacity building, and enhancement of national quality infrastructure. The project placed particular emphasis on enhancing compliance with international standards, improving production processes, and supporting MSMEs with joint certification and accreditation within a clustering approach.

This methodology enabled systemic transformation across value chains by targeting both the supply side (production and processing) and demand side (market access and compliance). Through the integration of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), training, infrastructure upgrades, and quality compliance support, the project strengthened the capabilities of MSMEs and national institutions alike.

The initiative was marked by robust stakeholder engagement. It brought together public institutions such as the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Ghana Standards Authority (GSA), Food and Drugs Authority (FDA), academia, laboratories, business support organizations, and private sector actors. These entities collaborated through capacity development sessions, cluster-based support, joint planning workshops, and shared implementation responsibilities. The participatory nature of this process not only ensured national ownership but also contributed to institutional alignment with broader industrial and export strategies.

At the regional level, WACOMP-Ghana facilitated cross-border learning and South-South cooperation through its engagement in the ECOWAS-WACOMP framework. This promoted mutual learning and systemic knowledge exchange, especially in areas such as quality infrastructure, certification, and regional value chain development.

In terms of measurable outcomes, 16 new standards have been developed and promoted to enhance the quality and consumer protection both for domestic use and export. A major institutional milestone was the accreditation of the Food Laboratory at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST)—the first Ghanaian laboratory to obtain ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accreditation, significantly strengthening the national quality infrastructure. Additionally, the FDA and GSA cosmetic Laboratories also achieved ISO 17025:2017 and  ISO 17025:2018 accreditation respectively, increasing confidence in the conformity of Ghanaian products with international standards. In total, 236 new products have been registered, and 272 received certification from the FDA and GSA.

More than 48,000 MSMEs were supported to enhance product quality, add value, and comply with export standards. Over 44,000 individuals benefited from targeted technical training. This support enabled MSMEs to secure critical certifications, such as GlobalG.A.P., allowing selected mango and pineapple producers to access EU markets. Technological and productivity upgrades led to tangible results in terms of reduced turnaround times and yields increase for cassava, mango and pineapple producers and processors. In the cosmetics sector, improved shea roasters developed by WACWISA doubled the processing capacity for women producers.

The project is innovative in its holistic approach to strengthening value chains and fostering cluster collaboration, with a strong focus on improving quality as a path to competitiveness. By combining quality compliance support with training and capacity building, WACOMP-Ghana helped SMEs move beyond basic production to higher-value activities. The sustainability of the intervention is anchored in its ability to empower and capacitate the local economic and QI ecosystem actors, ensuring that its impact can be maintained and scaled over time.

The WACOMP-Ghana model offers a replicable framework for other countries seeking to integrate their economic sectors into regional or global value chains. Key lessons from the initiative include the importance of building trust between public and private actors, the need for continuous capacity development to maintain compliance with international standards, and the benefit of regional cooperation to address shared challenges and promote cross-business and cross-country learning.