An Investigation of Obstacles for Small Ghanaian Enterprises Relocating from Urban to Rural Areas : A Minor Field Study in Ghana

Abstract: Up to date, an extensive amount of literature is available on urbanization related problems in West Africa. Urbanization in Ghana has led to a major development of urban cities but simultaneously caused economic depression in rural areas. However, cities have also come to be limited since the development does not meet the needs of the steady migration, leading to difficulties in maintaining the standard of basic services and systems, such as health care and schooling. Ghana's government is trying to remedy the problem by encouraging small enterprises to relocate to rural areas. Ghana is highly dependent on small enterprises, both economically and as a platform for employment. The idea to promote the transfer of companies, from urban to rural areas, is based in the belief that this will create more employment opportunities and hamper economic depression, thus enhancing the attractiveness of living in rural areas. This report consists of a literature study, a small field study, and a single holistic case study of a small Ghanaian clothing company. The project aimed to examine obstacles and opportunities for small enterprises to relocate, all or parts of the company, from urban to rural environments. The approach aimed to create an understanding of the difficulties and opportunities that form the basis of companies' potential to succeed under these new circumstances. Both subjective- and objective methods were used for data collection during the study. The result is presented as a force field diagram that illustrates factors enabling and restraining the ability of small companies moving from urban to rural environments. Initially, the impact of the restraining factors exceeded the enabling factors by far, these were found particularly related to quality assurance and communication. TQM and ICT were identified as potential tools for decreasing the impact of the restraining factors while enhancing that of the enabling. This resulted in a new force field diagram, which showed better conditions for successful relocation, due to the implementation of these tools.