Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) has completed the Training of Trainers (ToT) for Phase II of the Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES II).It is a survey to collect data on all the business establishments in the country.Held yesterday in Winneba, the workshop equipped 240 national and regional trainers with the technical skills and tools required to support field operations for one of the most critical economic surveys in the country.Speaking at the closing ceremony, Government Statistician, Dr Alhassan Iddrisu, said the IBES II was focused on collecting detailed information from over 40,000 enterprises across all 16 regions of Ghana.He said the data would support the rebasing of key macroeconomic indicators including Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the Producer Price Index (PPI), and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).It will also provide information on the value and structure of production, capital formation, employment, business innovation, and sector-specific challenges.Dr Iddrisu said the ToT workshop trained 240 national and regional trainers."These trainers will, in turn, lead the regional-level training of close to 4,000 field officers, supervisors, data quality monitors, and IT support staff who will be responsible for the main fieldwork scheduled to begin in July," he said.Highlighting on the relevance of the IBES II, Dr Iddrisu said IBES II would help in national planning and business policy initiation."The data we gather through IBES II will serve multiple critical purposes therefore the outcomes will help shape policy, inform investment decisions and support Ghana's investment agenda," he said.The Government Statistician urged businesses and private sector operators to cooperate with GSS field officers for the exercise."We urge all selected businesses across the country to cooperate fully.
This data is not just for the government, it is for Ghana."The IBES II Project Coordinator, Dr Anthony Krakah, noted that the ToT workshop was a test of readiness for national implementation.He said the IBES II Phase II built on the business register established during Phase I in 2024, which listed over 1.8 million business establishments."The 2025 sample covered 101 economic activity domains at the two-digit and three-digit ISIC levels.
Sampling has been designed to allow for national and regional estimates, and where possible, district-level insights," Dr Krakah, stated.He said data collection would use Survey Solutions (a Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing platform) with backup paper and online options for specific cases."A core part of the survey includes gathering information on pricing, output, input costs, employment, taxes, business constraints, and innovation practices," Dr Krakah stated. BY KINGSLEY ASARE
