Abstract:
More than two decades after Ghana has become a party to several Free Trade
Agreements (FTAs), the country is yet to fully benefit from its anticipated
economic development outcomes. Very little has changed, and many have
dashed their high hopes as enterprises continue to struggle in SSA. Even the
African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) could not renew hopes of
sceptics. This study, therefore, delved into the issues that are preventing
enterprises in Ghana from becoming sustainable and internationally
competitive. The study was approached qualitatively using phenomenological
research design. Research participants include major stakeholders in the
international trade and sustainable enterprise development ecosystem in Ghana
and beyond. The study found that there are several challenges that continue to
bedevil sustainable enterprise development in Ghana and by extension, SSA.
These challenges emanate from several sources including the enterprises
themselves, inadequate support services, poor quality of products, and financing
challenges of enterprises in Ghana and other SSA countries. The study
recommends new financing strategies, increase in technical and operational
capacities of enterprises, restructuring of support services, increase in
compliance levels, and changing the “goal of the firm” to sustainable enterprise
development as key interventions for developing sustainable and internationally
competitive enterprises in Ghana, as well as in other SSA countries.
