Canon Central and North Africa (CCNA) a leader in imaging solutions, has signed a collaboration agreement with Invest in Africa to release Canon "Professional Print Excellence" programme to train and mentor small and medium (SME) sized printing business in Ghana.

The "Professional Print Excellence" program aims to enhance the commercial and technical skills of 20 regional professional printing SMEs in Ghana's growing printing sector by providing them with focused training that will help them run big volumes of business and deliver world-class printing services and products.

"We anticipate working with Invest in Africa to supply SMEs in the printing sector in Ghana with the skills and knowledge they need to better serve their regional customers. Canon is dedicated to empowering this area through the enhancement of employment skills and development of task opportunities, and this is demonstrated through Canon's collaboration with Invest in Africa" commented Rokus van Iperen, President and CEO, Canon Europe, Middle East and Africa.

Mr Sam Brandful, Ghana Manager for Invest in Africa also indicated that "the Professional Print Excellence training programme sets the stage for developing the capacity of the picked SMEs in the printing sector to assist position them appropriately to be able to increase competitiveness, drive profits and supply them with a much better opportunity of accessing finance utilizing the African Partner Pool.".

As part of the partnership, Canon will supply specialised printing training for 20 SMEs from Q3 2016 to Q4 2016, followed by a mentorship program in 2017, while Invest in Africa will provide training on company advancement and company management best practices. Taking part SMEs will be able to obtain information of tenders from worldwide business in Ghana via Invest in Africa's 'Africa Partner Pool', with the supreme goal of winning more tenders than they would have had the ability to do without the training.

"Professional Print Excellence" programme was developed in reaction to a research study performed by Millward Brown for Canon Europe to comprehend the professional printing market in Ghana. The research study discovered that some industrial organisations are often utilizing print suppliers in foreign countries for their print requirements.

The research study recognized that 96 % of companies believe company in Ghana will grow in the next 3 to 5 years. 64 % of surveyed companies stated they could be encouraged to have more material printed within Ghana if Printing Quality enhanced.

Roman Troedthandl, Managing Director, CCNA, said: "In-house printing departments are virtually non-existent for corporations in Ghana. In spite of the teething obstacles hindering business in the nation, development expectation in the near future is high for the printing market. In their quest to utilize more local printers, corporations are trying to find enhanced print quality and delivery times. We are confident that with our training, we can begin to help SMEs to be more effective, timely and cost-effective.".

The programme is part of Canon's Miraisha Sustainability programme which is focused on developing the capability and skills of people in the African countries where it operates. It has actually been influenced by 'Kyosei' the business's corporate viewpoint which embodies the suitable of living and collaborating for the typical good.

Taking part SMEs will be invited to sign up with Invest in Africa's African Partner Pool (APP), Ghana's first cross-sector online business platform that connects larger global and Ghanaian business to local company throughout sectors. The APP aims to increase the visibility and credibility of Ghanaian SMEs and assistance global and domestic business who want maximise their local supply chains quicker and more cost effectively extensive its search capability.