The Ghana National Kaizen Awards (GNKA) took place on October 23, 2024, at the Accra Digital Centre, bringing together key stakeholders, distinguished guests, and Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) from across the country.
The event, organized by the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), celebrated the achievements of Ghanaian enterprises that have embraced the Kaizen philosophy, which stands for continuous improvement and operational excellence.
In her address, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GEA, Ms. Kosi Yankey Ayeh emphasized the significance of Kaizen in transforming the Ghanaian entrepreneurial landscape. “Kaizen is not just a business strategy; it is a way of life. It teaches us that there is always room for improvement, no matter how small,” she remarked.
The CEO highlighted GEA’s efforts, in partnership with JICA, to introduce Kaizen to over 100 MSMEs across seven regions, helping these businesses enhance efficiency and sustainability. Thousands more have also benefited through projects with the Mastercard Foundation and the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project.
The CEO commended the accomplishments of two Ghanaian enterprises, Francis Aluminum and Tiwajo Enterprise, which had earned prestigious awards at the African Kaizen Awards. She expressed optimism about the revival of the Ghana National Kaizen Awards, after a hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. This annual event will prepare more Ghanaian enterprises to compete on the continental stage and foster a culture of excellence nationwide.
During the ceremony, the GEA CEO acknowledged the support of partners such as JICA, UNIDO, the Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI), and the Ministry of Trade and Industry. She affirmed that the winners of this year’s awards would receive continued support from GEA, including access to markets and financial resources to sustain their growth.
As the event concluded, the CEO encouraged all enterprises in Ghana to embrace the Kaizen mindset, which emphasizes continuous improvement, to drive economic progress and national development.
The Ghana National Kaizen Awards are set to become a cornerstone of this transformation, showcasing the best of Ghanaian entrepreneurship to the world.
DRAFT CONCEPT GHANA NATIONAL KAIZEN AWARDS 1.0 INTRODUCTION
Kaizen is a Japanese system of incremental innovation, where employees are encouraged to make small changes in their work area on an ongoing basis. The cumulative effect of these many small changes over time can be quite significant, especially if all the employees within a company and its leaders are committed to kaizen.
KAIZEN means improvement. It encapsulates continuous improvement in personnel life, life in the home, social life and at the workplace. When applied to the workplace, KAIZEN means continuous improvement involving everyone — managers and employees alike. KAIZEN is a corrective process.
Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) in partnership with JICA have implemented Kaizen for more than 100 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in seven (7) Regions (Ashanti, Bono, Bono East, Ahafo, Northern, Central and the Greater Accra Region).
Over 10,000 MSMEs have aiso been trained in basic kaizen during the implementation of the Mastercard Foundation Young African Works Project, the Ghana Jobs and Skills Project and more people are going to be trained under the Mastercard Foundation Bizbox Project in ensuing years.
In 2019, the first Ghana National Kaizen awards was held in Accra at the Coconut Groove Hotel but was put on hold with the outbreak of COVID 19 and for the lack of sponsorship. Despite the outbreak, GEA continuously nominated Enterprises for the African Kaizen Awards. In 2021, though the African Kaizen Awards was organized virtually in South Africa, Francis Aluminum, an enterprise in Ashanti Region won the Excellent Performer in the category of Small and Medium Scale organization. Again in October 2023, Tiwajo Enterprise, a Cosmetic producer in Amasaman in the Greater Accra Region won the Outstanding Small Enterprise award during the African Kaizen Awards held in Ethiopia.
The interest to revive the Ghana National Kaizen Awards to be held annually to prepare many more enterprises for the African Kaizen Awards and to create model Kaizen Industries in the Country to inspire other MSMEs to grow has been wiped up again. Therefore, this year, GEA intends to organize the Award Ceremony on 23rd October 2024 at the Accra Digital Centre in partnership with, UNIDO and JICA,
OBJECTIVES The objectives for organizing the ceremony are:
To enable GEA and MDPI nominate well prepared MSMEs with potential to perticipate in the African Kaizen Awards.
To publicize Kaizen to boost GEA’s efforts with to smoothly implement the commercialization of Kaizen in the Country to inspire growth among MSMEs in Ghana.
Call for Applications
Ghana Kaizen Award (GKA) 2024 March 2024
Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) and Management Development and Productivity Institute (MDPI) would like to invite applications for the Ghana Agizen Award (GKA) 2024. Kaizen is a managerial method focused on continuous improvement of work processes through small, incremental changes that have heen popularly applied glohally. Since the late 2000s, Japan Inmemmational Cooperation Agency (SICA) and Pan-Aflica Productivity Association (PAPA) have been assisting in transferring Kaizen methods in several African couatrics, mainly targeting af manufacturing enterprises while Ghana has been the key country in receiving the transfer in West Aftica. in order to facilitate the Kaizen transftt across the African continent, the African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) and JICA have started presenting the Africa Ka zen Award (AKA) to outstanding Kaizen performing organizations in the Aftica Kaizen Annual Conference (AKAC) since 2019. Ghana has successfully won AKAs in two conferences; ramcly, Francis Aluminum Limited in 2020 and Tiwajo Industry Limited in 2023. With the honor of success in the AKA. the best Kaizen performing enterprise in Ghana of the year will receive the Ghana Kaizcn Award, representing an entry to AKA from Ghana
Announcemeat of the winner
The winner of the Ghana Kaizen Awards will be announced on 28 August 2024.
