Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung@ 40 in Ghana Fraternity Message from the National Board for Small Scale Industries(NBSSI) to the Friedrich- Ebert- Stiftung(FES) on the Occasion of FES' 40th Anniversary in Ghana The National Board for Small Scale Industries(NBSSI) had a long and fruitful collaboration with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung(FES) from 1990 to 1998. This period was characterised by initiatives of the Government of Ghana to enhance the development of an enterprise culture mainly through entrepreneurship training in Ghana. The NBSSI was established as the apex body to spearhead all activities critical for the achievement of entrepreneurship development, especially in the micro and small enterprise(MSE) sector in Ghana. The strategy adopted by NBSSI to facilitate access of MSEs to business development services was the establishment of Business Advisory Centers(BACs) in as many regional and district capitals as possible. The Cape Coast BAC was the first to be established and FES played a very important role in providing support in this direction. The Cape Coast BAC could not have been established effectively and operationalised without FES support in terms of the provision of technical and financial resources. FES also provided for a number of studies whose results provided very useful input for designing further interventions for promotion of the MSE sector. A lot of work was also done with FES support with respect to the formation and strengthening of business and trade associations, the effects of which are still evident. Indeed, your contribution towards publicising the BAC concept and its activities have been of tremendous importance in the design of Business Development Services for Small and Micro Enterprises in Ghana. NBSSI is solidly behind you as you celebrate forty years of fruitful labour and hard work in Ghana. We wish you the very best in all your future endeavours. Nana(DR) Baah Boakye (Executive Director) 72