A 15-member trade delegation from the United States is in the country to explore investment and trade partnerships with small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs). Areas of interest to the delegation include energy, education, health-care, construction, waste-management, tourism and training. The Founder and Head of the (AU) Diaspora African Forum Mission, Dr. Erieka Bennett who received the delegation, said the visit is to encourage Diaspora participation and investment in Africa to assist SMEs grow. “SMEs in the country will benefit and grow if they team-up with their counterparts from the United States. They will then be able to bid for bigger contracts and expand their businesses to the US. “The mission is to provide a safe landing for businesses in the Diaspora willing to partner local companies. Local companies looking for partnership with US-based companies can also link-up through The (AU) DAF Mission.” Mr. Eric A. Sheppard, President and CEO of Diversity Restoration Solutions Inc., who led the delegation said: “The global economic downturn has shown that it is important for us to come back and establish sustained business partnerships with local companies.” The visit was facilitated by The (AU) DAF Mission. The mission is an African Union-endorsed non-governmental organisation that was established about four years ago to invite and encourage the full participation of Africans living in the Diaspora who yearn to be part of their roots and are willing to contribute their time, financial resources, expertise, skills and energies in the building of a better Africa. Recent studies have shown that SMEs, which form the backbone of Ghana’s economy, face many constraints and only a few of them are competitive in today’s globalised business environment Available data on the manufacturing industry in the country show that 96 percent of companies in the sector are SMEs and micro-businesses; and it is assumed that the share of SMEs in the service and construction sectors are equally high, but low for the mining and utilities sectors. Of the 725,000 employed workers in the manufacturing, industry and the services sectors, about 460,000 are engaged in the SME sector -- and with a growth-rate of 10 percent, the SME sector is estimated to generate 45,000 new jobs annually. Numerous challenges have been cited as hindering the competitiveness of the sector, including difficulties in accessing land, new technologies, information, and adequate and affordable capital, as well as constraints of competition and high level bureaucracy, competition from imported products, inadequate management skills, regulatory constraints, and cost of licences among others.