National Kaizen Project: Japanese volunteer helps local businesses embrace Kaizen and improve productivity in A/R

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) is helping Ghana through its volunteer program. This initiative, called the Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCV), focuses on health, education, trade, and industry.

One project, “Enterprise Development with Kaizen,” is run by the Ghana Enterprise Agency (GEA) and JICA. It helps businesses in Ghana adopt Kaizen principles. Kaizen means ‘change for the better’ or ‘continuous improvement.’

In Mampong, a town in Ashanti region, local businesses are adopting Kaizen. They are seeing improvements in their processes and productivity.

Afi Juliana Yamanu owns Beatee Agro-processing company. She shared her experience through her daughter Beatrice Ayawo: “We embraced Kaizen here and it improved our operations. Our factory was previously disorganized.”

“Now we have organized our space and labeled each section. We have areas for washing, peeling, processing, and pressing. This helps us work faster and reduces movement time. Our daily output increased from one and a half bags to three bags.”

Mr. Alexander Nyame heads the Mampong Business Resource Centre (BRC). He recently traveled to Japan for training and praised their support for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

He said: “The Japanese government is committed to SME growth. They have effective support institutions that work together well. We can learn from this to improve our BRCs.”

The BRC provides various Business Development Services (BDS) to entrepreneurs at the district level. It also serves as a hub for financial facilitation and business information for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The Ministry of Trade and Industry introduced BRCs in 2017 through the Rural Enterprises Programme with GEA's support. This initiative aims to develop the MSME sector under Ghana’s Industrial Transformation Agenda.

Mr. Nyame discussed challenges facing MSMEs in Mampong. Some businesses struggle with outdated practices that hinder efficiency.

“Others lose inputs during production due to unrefined processes,” he noted. “Many also face inventory challenges.”

However, he expressed gratitude towards JICA: “Mr. Yabushita, our Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer, is very helpful.” He introduced the Kaizen Convention to promote these principles among local businesses.

Over 240 businesses participated in this convention. Many learned how to streamline production time and organize their work areas effectively.

Mr. Yabushita aims to establish a Kaizen Club for local businesses in Mampong: “I share knowledge so businesses can grow.” He sees potential in Mampong companies eager to learn simple ways of improvement.

Ms. Jennifer Mortson owns Mort-Jenn Fashion Enterprise and praised her Kaizen training: “We now identify sewing talents among workers.”

She added: “Workers specialize in what they do best now.” Their factory reorganization has led them to produce five dresses instead of two within the same time frame.

Beyond Kaizen training, Mr. Yabushita teaches technology use at Mampong BRC as well as business software skills.

Management plans for him to share his computer knowledge with staff at the Centre and other local businesses around Mampong.