Barriers of Advancement: Ghana's Printing Industry

Abstract

Ghana's Printing Industry has for over four decades provided essential services across all sectors of the economy without any significant contribution to economic growth. Despite Government private sector development initiative in 2004, the printing industry is still struggling to contribute significantly to economic growth in order to reduce youth unemployment. This study explored and unearthed challenges facing small scale printing industries in Accra, with the focus on management, employees, clients and raw materials, especially paper. With the use of qualitative and quantitative approaches, data were collected through in - depth interview, observation and survey questionnaire. Sample consisted of twenty Chief executive officers, seventy five employees and fifteen clients from eighteen printing firms in Accra.

Most respondents expressed lack of local raw materials, importation of raw materials, high import duties, high foreign exchange rates, development of technology, lack of expertise and government contracts and unfair distribution of textbooks printing as setbacks for the printing industry.  Members of the printing industry argued that the private sector development initiative is inadequate, as it did not address important concerns of the printing industry.