Analysis of the Characteristics and Operations of Small Scale Industries In Ghana

This paper provides empirical evidence and analysis of the characteristics of firms and assesses the nature of operations of Small-Scale Industry (SSI) in Ghana. Special attention has been paid to the roles that gender, education and other social elements play in the operations of the sector. The data used in this study were collected from a population of manufacturing firms in the SSI sector through the use of a structured questionnaire survey administered in rural settlements throughout the Mfantseman District in the Central Region of Ghana. The analysis covered the structure and operations of firms. The broad pattern which emerged from the analysis of the results is that, a higher percentage of firms has been in operation for less than 10 years and therefore relatively young. The sizes of firms were predominantly small and dominated by sole proprietorship making the sector the domain of owner managers. The capital requirement of the sector was very modest and the evidence showed that proprietors tended to rely more on their own funds as start-up capital of their businesses. Keywords: Characteristics, Operations, Small-Scale Industries, Firms, Handicrafts Proprietor