Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization

The Suame Magazine Industrial Development Organization (SMIDO) is the umbrella association representing all artisan associations in the Suame Magazine industrial cluster in Kumasi, Ashanti Region, Ghana. Suame Magazine is West Africa's largest indigenous metalwork and engineering cluster, covering approximately 20 square miles and home to over 200,000 skilled workers and 12,000 shop-owning entrepreneurs. The cluster emerged in the 1930s around a colonial-era British military armoury (hence the name "Magazine") and has grown into what the World Bank calls "possibly the largest manufacturing informal sector in Africa". SMIDO coordinates advocacy, skills development, technology transfer, and donor engagement for Suame artisans across vehicle repair, metal fabrication, machine tools, and engineering.