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As part of efforts to provide digital platform for small and medium-scale enterprises to market their goods and services to both local and international markets, a Ghana Online Market has been launched.

The initiative was jointly launched by the Ministry of business development and national entrepreneurship and innovation plan (NEIP).

CEO of NEIP, lawyer John Kumah said government would support 10,000 businesses with full directory, product images and brief videos onto the digital platform from October to December this year under the first phase of the project and that 8,000 jobs were expected to be created in a year.

Ghana Online Mall is a business development and marketing digital platform to help small and medium-scale enterprises to use technology to market their products and services to the global community.

The online platform comprised four digital platforms namely; Ghana Online Mall, Africa Online Mall, NEIP e-Mall and NEIP Marketplace. It will be a business directory for all businesses that will be hooked onto the platform to trade among themselves, showcase and sell their products to the global community.

He further explained that, interested persons and businesses could visit the homepage of the digital platform through www.ghanaonline.com to register their businesses, market their goods and services for free, as well as identify potential businesses for investment relationship and funding.

 He also revealed that the platform will also help start-ups and small and medium-scale enterprises to access funding and global market as 500,000 businesses are expected to be hooked onto the platform in a year. He said,

‘’It forms part of the NEIP’s mandate to provide three key support services to entrepreneurship ecosystem in Ghana-Business Advisory Services, Access to Funding and Access to Local and International Market.’;’ Delivering the keynote address on behalf of Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, Labour and Employment Minister, Ignatius Bagffour Awuah said, “The online mall platform which will be a pool of services providers with diverse backgrounds is an avenue for job creation especially for our students, unemployed graduates, busy mums, artisans and all those who can offer some form of services in the comfort of their homes.

“This will further boost trade with other African countries within the context of the Continental Free Trade Area Agreement signed by 50 African countries this year,” he said.

 “In addition, the online mall platform, which will be a pool of service providers with diverse backgrounds, is an avenue for job creation, especially for our students, unemployed graduates, artisans, and all those who can offer some kind of services in the comfort of their homes. 8,000 jobs are expected to be created in the first 12 months.”