About GMIC
The development of small and medium enterprises [SMEs] is being acknowledged as a key condition in promoting equitable and sustainable economic development worldwide. Indeed, because of their economic weight in African countries, SMEs have a crucial role to play in stimulating growth, generating employment and contributing to poverty alleviation. SME’s represent over 90% of private businesses in Africa and contribute to more than 50% of the employment and GDP in most African countries.
Thinking along these lines and realizing that ICT is key to enhancing economic growth, the Government of Ghana established the first of incubation centres in the country at the Ghana House.
The Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre established in 2005 is to promote ICT Entrepreneurship Development through the incubation of ICT business start-ups and to also develop the much needed ICT skills under the government’s ICT for Accelerated Development (ICT4AD) initiative. With support from the UNDP and the government through the Ministry of Communications, the centre aids start-ups and young businesses that have ground-breaking and innovative ICT ideas to mature into viable business ventures. The centre provides its tenant companies with office space, utilities, internet access and a shared resources centre which gives them access to various secretarial services. In short, everything a small business needs to get started is made available to our tenants.
In addition, the tenant companies undergo a comprehensive mentoring process, receiving capacity-building from experienced consultants and successful entrepreneurs in such diverse fields as project management, marketing, business plan development, proposal writing and negotiation skills. After periodic monitoring and evaluation of tenants’ performance, successful businesses ‘graduate’ from the Incubator after a stipulated period into the real world.
The Incubator currently houses thirteen (13) tenant-companies who are undertaking various innovative and technological developments from educational software development, vehicle tracking systems, web-based recruitment and advertising systems, intelligent systems, campus automation systems and other.
The Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre also hosts the Business Process Outsourcing Training Centre, the only such facility in the country today. The BPO training centre is concerned with equipping young Ghanaians with the skills necessary for inducing multinational companies to outsource some of their core business processes to Ghana. The training centre gives candidates the skills needed to become Call Centre Operators, Medical Transcriptionists and Data Entry Clerks.
VISION
The vision of the GMIC is to promote technological innovations, skilled business outsourcing, entrepreneurship and global competitiveness in ICT, making Ghana an information communication hub in the sub-region of West Africa.
MISSION
To boost human resource availability in BPO and entrepreneurship in the ICT sector by providing the youth with the necessary business development environment and support structures.
OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of GMIC is to help start-ups and growing businesses through the critical period by offering a supportive and sharing environment. The objective is further explained below:
- Promote entrepreneurship in the ICT sector
- Boost job creation in the ICT sector
- Develop linkages with other institutions
- Develop the man power pool for the outsourcing industries
- Boost job creation in the BPO sector
BACKGROUND
The government of Ghana envisaged the potential of ICT as an enabling tool for leveraging economic development. With this vision in mind and through a consultative process, the government adopted and launched an ICT for Accelerated Development Policy (ICT4AD) in 2003.
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the United Nations’ global development network, advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to build a better life. This global network aids human development by focusing on poverty, crisis resolutions, energy, environment, gender, communications, information technology, and the like. Its current priority is to help all countries achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015.
With UNDP Ghana’s cardinal policy of ensuring the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), it has affirmed its commitment to the implementation and effect delivery of the Government of Ghana ICT Policy (ICT4AD).
This commitment has resulted in a partnership between the Government of Ghana and the UNDP on several initiatives. One of these initiatives is the establishment of the ICT Entrepreneurship Development Programme executed at the Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre.
The path to ENTREPRENEURSHIP through innovation
“Young people should be at the forefront of global change and innovation. Empowered, they can be key agents for development and peace.”
Kofi Annan
Fmr. United Nations Secretary General
THE CONCEPT
The Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre is the first of a series of Incubator Centres to be established by the Ministry of Communication in collaboration with the Ministry of Private Sector Development, the Ministry of Trade and Industry and the PSI. The Incubator concept is considered one of the best means of promoting business growth by effectively linking Talent, Technology, Capital and Professional know-how.
The Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre is set up to help overcome bureaucratic obstacles and provides affordable Space and Business facilities, thus reducing the costs of Business Start-ups.
Most importantly, it will provide Advisory, Training and Information Services, Management and Marketing Support, linkages to Research facilities and access to Capital thereby greatly enhancing the chances of success of the early-stage “Technopreneur”, to coin a term.
Management Team
The Ghana Multimedia Incubator Centre board has hired a Project Coordinator, and this person is to assist in opening the incubator, hiring and supervising additional staff.
Total staff needed to operate the centre is limited to four full time staff, namely:
1. The Project Coordinator
2. The Training Coordinator
3. The Receptionist/Administrative Assistant
4. The Systems Manager