SMIDO

Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization (SMIDO) is a non-governmental organization created by the various trade associations operating within the Magazine. It was established in 2006 with the support of the ‘Business Sector Advocacy Challenge (BUSAC) Fund 2’ and the Dynamic Spare Parts Dealers Association3 to foster local development. SMIDO has over 1600 individual registered members and is affiliated with 12 associations within Suame Magazine. The mission of SMIDO is “to ensure effective and efficient management of the Suame Magazine industrial estate with respect to appropriate technological innovations, partnership, marketing, employment creation and enhanced investment opportunities to establish the estate as the main industrial propelling sector of Ghana and the technological hub of the African continent”. To pursue this mission, SMIDO collaborates with industrial and institutional partners and investors to secure technology, expertise and financial resources that will contribute to the Magazine’s development. Through the establishment of the Suame Magazine Automatics Technical Institute (SMATI) in 2009, SMIDO runs programmes to build artisanscapacity to run successful businesses. SMIDO also seeks to improve market access for businesses in the Magazine through its engineering programme, which creates links with large formal sector companies and introduces artisans to these companies’ standards and expectations.