The African Partner Pool (APP), Ghana’s first cross-sector online business directory that connects larger international and Ghanaian companies (buyers) to local businesses has successfully registered almost 1,000 companies (suppliers) exactly one year after the portal was activated.

Invest in Africa (IIA), an organization focused on tackling shared private sector challenges, created the APP portal – www.africanpartnerpool.com –to simplify the local sourcing process by connecting independently validated Ghanaian SMEs with international and domestic companies.

The APP allows local companies to promote their goods and services to wider market. It also helps larger international and Ghanaian companies to find credible Ghanaian suppliers and meet their local content needs quicker and more cost effectively through its search functionality.

Local businesses registered on the APP will have a profile page to promote their businesses on, whilst international and domestic companies are able to use a search tool to help them find suppliers with the qualifications, experience and standards they need.

A tender’s notice board will also feature buyer’s tenders from across sectors, giving local businesses greater visibility of opportunities.

13 major buyers such as Tullow Oil, Lonrho, Ernst & Young (EY), Clyde & Co, AB & David, Ecobank, the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Guinness Ghana Breweries Ltd (GGBL), UT Bank, General Electric (GE), Newmont and the Millenium Development Authority (MIDA) are currently registered on the portal, which has also featured tenders worth over US $37 million.

“The African Partner Pool is the core of IIA’s work in Ghana. This directory will assist local suppliers promote their businesses and increase their ability to tender more competitively.

It will also help them access training and support from Invest in Africa’s Partners and the African Development Bank to build capacity and grow their businesses,” said Invest in Africa’s Ghana Country Manager, Sam Brandful.

In line with the APP’s objective of providing training for the SME sector, the IIA is currently rolling out a business training initiative called The Business Linkage Programme (BLP) with financial support from the African Development Bank’s Funs for African Private Sector Assistance (FAPA).

Over the next three years, the BLP will provide 120 ambitious Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) with world class training and mentoring from global experts across sectors.

The BLP has been uniquely designed to support Ghanaian SMEs embed efficient management structures and technical systems to improve their competitiveness, attract finance and win new businesses