GIPC to Hunt for Club 100 Companies

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is to liaise with the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Private Enterprise Foundation (PEF), Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) to identify the best 100 companies operating in the country.

The GIPC, which had previously relied on voluntary bids for inclusion in the prestigious Ghana Cub 100 companies’ league, says the new approach is to ensure the right companies are identified and showcased to the world. CEO of GIPC, Yofi Grant, in an interview with B&FT on the sidelines of the presentation of prizes to winners at the Young Entrepreneurs Forum (YEF) in Accra, said the Centre is being proactive. “So far, so good; the big challenge that we have had in the past and we are trying to work on is we want to genuinely showcase Ghana’s top-100 companies.

In the past, because we had difficulties in getting all the companies, it has been voluntary. So, the companies themselves volunteered their annual results and were assisted by an independent firm – EY; but this time we are trying to be a bit more proactive in actually looking for the top companies. Some companies just don’t want to be part of the ranking, for whatever reason,” he said.

For the GIPC boss, going out there and hunting for companies with the help of some accounting and advisory firms to try and genuinely find the top 100 companies “will be more representative than those who only volunteer their financials for assessment and inclusion”.

The Ghana Club 100 (GC100) is an annual compilation of the top-100 companies in Ghana to give due recognition to successful enterprises, and was launched in 1998 by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC). Companies making it into the Ghana Club 100 are to serve as role-models for the private sector and provide a forum for corporate Ghana to interact with government at a high level.

Among the objectives of Ghana Club 100 is to develop an open information culture within the Ghanaian corporate sector, provide incentives for improved performance, develop uniform criteria for evaluating this performance, and to establish an annual database of the top-100 performing companies.

It also has eligibility criteria which state all entrants must be limited liability companies; for companies with government interest, government ownership should be less than 50%, unless the company is listed on the Ghana Stock Exchange.

Source: THEBFTONLINE.COM

India Textile Manufacturers Considering Setting Up Plants in Ghana

Several India textile manufacturers are considering setting up textile production plants in Ghana. This follows a formal proposal by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), Madam Afua Asabea Asare that it has become necessary to enable the two countries benefit from duty free access in Africa through the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement for products manufactured on the continent.

Instructively, a number of business delegations from India were recently in Ghana to explore various business opportunities and the High Commission of India in Accra arranged regular business engagements with various Ghanaian business chambers aimed at fostering bilateral trade and investment in Ghana. Indeed source at the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre affirm that Madam Asare’s entreaties to Indian textile producers to establish factories here are already persuading some investors from that country to make enquiries into the process for doing this.

Currently, the combined apparel and footwear market in sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to be around US$31 billion. Under the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), Ghana exported about US$30 million and US$29 million worth of garments in 2017 and 2016 respectively, all of those exports went to the US markets rather than the African markets. Ghana’s garment industry recorded a peak growth rate of 15.1 percent in 2008, but this has since dropped to 0.8 and 0.3 percent in 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Subsequently, the sector recorded a contraction of 1.4 percent in 2016. What this means is that Ghana’s garment industry has been declining in what is proving to be a sustained recession and the recent export data released by GEPA still depicts that Ghana’s textile industry has been underperforming. India’s overall textile exports from 2017 to 2018 on the other hand stood at US$39.2 billion and is expected to reach US$82.00 billion by 2021. Importantly, the market size of India’s textiles industry as a whole is estimated to be US$250 billion.

With an estimated population of more than one billion people and a combined Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of US$3.4 trillion, having a duty free access to the African free trade area by establishing textile manufacturing plants in Ghana as a member of the free trade area and indeed the host of the AfCFTA secretariat would greatly enhance India’s textile markets access in a market that rivals India’s own in size if not in value.

Speaking with the Goldstreet Business during the official launch of India International Textile Machinery Exhibitions (ITME) Africa 2020 – a global textile business forum to be held in Ethiopia from 14th to 16th February, 2020, the Second Secretary (Commerce) of the High Commission of India in Accra Mr. T. V. Ganesan said the two nations have bilateral relations with economic and commercial ties as its strong pillar.

“Many Ghanaian business firms have established links with Indian textile and clothing industries which we expect would boost trade between the two countries”, he said. Bilateral trade relations between Ghana and India has seen a considerable increase in the last five years from around US$3 billion to an estimated US$4.5 billion between 2018 and 2019.

Currently, the quantum of India’s investments in Ghana amounts to over US$510 million as the country occupies the second position in terms of projects being 18.

ITME Africa 2020

The Chairman of the India ITME Society, Mr. Hari Shankar is entreating Ghanaian textile industry players to participate in the event next year.

Source: Goldstreet Business

Many Local Businesses Shy Away from Gov’t Incentives, Investments – Yofi Grant

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, has lamented the lack of risk-taking among Ghanaian investors and businesses.  Speaking at the 2019 AGI Industrial Summit and Exhibition, Yofi Grant charged local businesses to take advantage of incentives and programs the GIPC continue to offer businesses. Citing a 2018 McKenzie Report that indicates that no company in Ghana has an annual revenue of $500 million.

“McKenzie recently released a report on businesses in Africa. One of the observations is that 438 companies in Africa were generating revenues of $1 billion and more. Nigeria had 38 of those countries. Ghana had zero! Many of our local companies are shying away from various government programs and incentives being undertaken here, the foreigners are doing so, this should not happen,” he stated.

Meanwhile, Trade Minister, Alan Kyeremanteng charged business leaders and captains of industry to use recent business reforms as a catalyst for growth.

He said, “The type of incentives that you offer local industries determines how competitive they will be. Some of you can’t even memorize the incentives. You don’t know what is available to you because you focus on what you don’t have to focus on.”

The AGI Ghana Industrial summit and exhibition is on the theme, Strengthening Ghanaian Industries for Global Competitiveness. It ends on Thursday, September 12.

The conference was to create a forum for interaction and matchmaking among major oil operations such as Tullow Oil and its major contractors alongside local exhibitions and conference participants from several industries and professional bodies ranging from supply chain logistics, legal and ICT to the academia.

Source: MYJOYONLINE

GIPC Delegation Ends Investment Tour in Japan

In fulfilment of its mandate to promote investment opportunities in Ghana, a 50-member delegation led by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has just ended a four-day investment tour at the 7th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) held in Japan.

The Ghanaian entourage, mainly made up of CEOs from the private sector, were drawn from various sectors including Agriculture, Manufacturing, Financial Services, ICT & Manufacturing, participated in various forums and interacted with their counterparts in Yokohama in a bid to establish business relations between both countries.

During the Invest in Ghana Session organised by the Centre and held on the sidelines of TICAD 7, the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Yofi Grant emphasized that as one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, Ghana has enormous investment and business opportunities to offer the investor community in Japan.

He further touted the government’s policies aimed at attracting and providing incentives for investors, which are currently yielding positive mutual results.

“The Ghana Beyond Aid agenda is looking at building a wealthy society, inclusive of all its stakeholders, partners and sustainable with an empowered people and a resilient economy,” he stated. The session was organized to bring together Japanese businessmen and women interested in doing business in Ghana and provide a networking avenue for the Ghanaian delegation attending TICAD 7.

Some Japanese companies currently operating in Ghana such as Yedent Agro Group/Ajinomoto Foundation, Marubeni Corporation, Itochu Corporation and Union International & Co also shared testimonials on the business climate in Ghana and encouraged potential investors to consider investment packages being offered by the government of Ghana.

A considerable number of Ghanaian investors who were present at the event hinted that they were generally impressed with the outcomes of their interactions with their Japanese counterparts and look forward to closing business deals within a few months.

Some of the companies present were William Pitt Construction, Wad African Foods limited, The Fort Group, Midwest Company Limited, KOS Group Limited, Jilcon Construction & Petroleum Limited, Alpha Samuelson Company Limited and Gekad Construction Limited.

The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) facilitated the private sector engagements at TICAD 7 which provided the platform for country exhibitions and Business to Business meetings for all 54 African countries in attendance.

Field Visits

While in Japan, the Ghanaian business delegation visited Nippon Signal Company Limited, a Transportation Technology Company which has contributed to Japan’s transportation system, especially railway. The group also toured the premises of Sakai Heavy Industries Limited, a Japanese company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of construction equipment and outsourced industrial machinery.  Shimizu Corporation, another Japanese company specialized in general construction, architecture, civil engineering and property services was the final tour destination for the Ghanaian investors.

The essence of these trips was to familiarize themselves with business opportunities and operations in Japan and explore possible collaborations for the future.

Ghana – JETRO MoU

As part of efforts to promote and deepen Ghana-Japan trade relations, JETRO signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Ghana to set up an office in Ghana. The Chief Executive Officer of JETRO, Nobuhiko Sasaki and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey signed on behalf of JETRO and the government of Ghana respectfully and witnessed by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.

JETRO is the Japanese government-related organization that promotes mutually beneficial trade and investment relations between Japan and the rest of the world.

Minister of Trade and Industry

Speaking at the Investment in Ghana event, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyeremanten reiterated Ghana’s position as the gateway to West Africa and a conducive investment climate in Africa. He encouraged the Japanese investors to take advantage of innovative and transformative projects in Ghana such as Planting for Food and Jobs, One- District- One- Factory (1D1F), Digitization Projects and other strategic economic development programmes introduced by the Akufo- Addo administration.

Government Delegation

Present at TICAD 7 in Japan was a high-profiled government delegation, led by President Nana Addo Danquah Akufo-Addo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration – Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Trade and Industry Minister – Alan Kyeremanten. The others were Minister for Works and Housing – Samuel Atta Akyea, Minister for Roads and Highways – Kwasi Amoako-Atta, Minister for Education – Matthew Opoku Prempeh and Heads of selected state institutions.

About TICAD

The Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD) is an initiative of the Government of Japan to promote Africa’s development, peace and security, through the strengthening of relations in multilateral cooperation and partnership, particularly with the country.

It is co-organised by the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC).

It is an assembly of African heads of state and government, as well as international organisations, donor countries, private companies and civil society organizations.

The meetings were initially held every five years in Japan, until 2016 when it was revised to be held every three years and hosted alternately in Africa and Japan. The 7th Edition was held in Yokohama, Japan from 27th – 30th August 2019.

Source: GIPC

GIPC Woos Investors at African Green Revolution Summit

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has created a platform to explain the various investment opportunities in Ghana to potential investors attending the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) in Accra.

The Chief Operating Officer of GIPC- Carl Nelson, speaking at the Investing in Ghana Meeting on Thursday on the topic: “Investing in Agriculture-Raising Efficiency and Productivity for Economic Growth,” said potential investors could venture into areas like trade and industry, oil and gas, agriculture, manufacturing, agro-processing roads and highways and other social infrastructure.

He said investors will enjoy favourable tax rebate, especially those that would invest outside the national capital, noting that, foreign investors required US$50 million and above for investment purposes. Mr. Nelson advocated joint partnerships between foreign and local firms but also allowed 100 per cent foreign ownership, adding that the Centre was ready to offer the necessary advisory services and support to all potential investors.

He explained the mandate and various advisory services offered by the GIPC to potential investors, adding that Ghana had a peaceful and stable democracy in the sub-region with lots of juicy incentive packages for investors, saying; “Your investment is safe in Ghana”.

On investment opportunities in the agricultural sector, he said the sector had a lot of potential to create jobs and wealth and contribute more to the growth of the Gross Domestic Product, adding that there were lots of arable lands for rice cultivation, maize, cotton and cotton biotics and cashew, while opportunities was in cocoa processing and value addition for export, as well as financing of fish farming and water resources.

He said the country had a conducive climate for investment with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) hovering around US$65.56 billion in 2018 with a 6.3 per cent growth rate, and a GDP per capita of US$2. 214million.

He highlighted some progress the country made in the macro economy, saying that the inflation rate stood at 9.4 per cent as at July this year, rated third Foreign Direct Investment destination in West Africa and recorded US$4.78 billion trade balance in December last year.

He said the government was pursuing a bold strategy for creating growth and partnerships across multiple sectors of the economy, which required investment with the private sector as the engine of growth.

Mr. Nelson quoted a statement President Akufo-Addo made to back his presentation: “If we’re to make any meaningful changes in the lives of the people, our efforts must be directed at agriculture. The majority of the people might feel a change in their lives when we develop agriculture”.

Touching on the contribution of some sectors of the economy to the GDP in 2018, he said the services sector contributed 46. 3 per cent, industry 34 per cent, and agriculture 19.7 per cent and believed that the agricultural sector could do better in the future if more attention was given to create more jobs.

 A Deputy Minister of Food and Agriculture, George Boahen-Oduro, for his part, said the Akufo-Addo’s Government had concerned itself with making agriculture a priority to create decent jobs, wealth, and sustainable development and ready to offer all the necessary support to prospective investors.

He said apart from the government’s flagship Planting for Food and Jobs, it developed five agriculture modules including; Food Crops focusing on the cereals, Tuber Crops, Tree Crops (cashew, coconut, oil palm, rubber and shea), Leafy Vegetables and Rearing for Food and Jobs to turn around the fortunes of the agricultural sector intended to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and the African green revolution agenda.

Mr. Boahen-Oduro said government was constructing storage facilities across the country and intended to expand the current storage capacity from 34,000 to 250,000 metric tonnes over the next five years, to prevent post-harvest losses.

“In line with the Malabo Declaration, agribusiness has been patronised as a key area of focus if Africa has to triple intra-Africa trade by 2025, promote inclusive value chain linkage to agricultural-led industrialization.

“This aligns with the government’s efforts of industrialisation and private-sector development to create opportunities to expand the economy, create more jobs through the provision of energy for industry, raw materials, research and industrial development initiatives such as the One-District-One-Factory and provide competitive packages for local industries,” Mr. Boahen-Oduro explained.

The African Green Revolution Forum is the world’s premier forum for African agriculture, pulling together stakeholders in the agricultural landscape to discuss and commit policies, programmes and investments to achieve an inclusive and sustainable agricultural transformation across the African Continent.

The forum has so far attracted some 2,800 delegates from 79 countries in Africa and across the globe, including; Heads of State, Ministers of Agriculture, Central Bank Governors, captains of industry, development partners, representatives of farmer organisations, youth entrepreneurs and other critical stakeholders being held on the theme: “Grow Digital: Leveraging Digital Transformation to Drive Sustainable Food Systems in Africa”.

It focuses on three areas- leveraging on the digital technology to leapfrog Africa’s agricultural sector into the future, empowering private sector and SMEs and tackling challenges with the climate change.

Source: GHANA NEWS AGENCY

Local Businesses to Benefit From AfCFTA

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr Yofi Grant has assured the local business community that the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Ghana will not threaten their business but rather create significant opportunities and make them more competitive and well positioned for the global market.

 According to him, the opening up of the Ghanaian market for the trading of goods and services with other African countries under the AfCFTA will ensure quality in production and services such that the Ghanaian trader will have the upper hand in the market.

Mr Grant made this known during a seven-member panel discussion on operationalizing the AfCFTA in Ghana held on the sidelines of the just ended three-day National Conference on the implementation of the AfCFTA Agreement in Ghana. The session was intended to address the critical institutional structures needed to support the implementation of the AfCFTA in Ghana and also look into the roles and responsibilities of various institutions in ensuring the smooth implementation and operationalization of the Agreement.

Members of the panel included Professor Alex Dodoo, Director General of the Ghana Standards Authority; Ms Afua Asabea Asare, CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA); Connell Kwadwo Damoah (Rtd), Commissioner of the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA), Mr Frank Agyekum, Executive Secretary of the Ghana International Trade Commission (GITC); Mrs Mimi Darko, CEO of the Food and Drugs Authority (FDA); and Mr Micheal Okyere Baafi, CEO of the Ghana Free Zones Authority (GFZA).

The session was chaired by Professor Stephen Adei, Chairman of the National Development planning Commission (NDPC). Mr Grant said the AfCFTA puts the GIPC in an interesting position to harness and bring in significant investments as the country hosts the Secretariat of the AfCFTA adding, “the fact that we are ruling Africa’s trade regime means that we can actually reposition ourselves to be the place where almost all regional headquarters should be and can you imagine what that means”.

Additionally, he said, as an investment promotion agency, the Centre was looking at reforming its laws to make Ghana comparatively competitive without compromising either the political economy or our own productive base. “We are looking at the review of our laws to have harmony between all the multilateral and bilateral laws in Ghana such that there is no conflict and it is easier for business to freely invest in Ghana”, he said.

In taking advantage of the AfCFTA, Mr Grant said there was the urgent need to improve infrastructure so as to attract more international companies. He expressed optimism that Ghana could harness the full benefits of the AfCTA in a more structured way.

Source: GIPC 

GIPC Touts Investment Opportunities at African American Business Summit

The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has touted and pitched business and investment opportunities to a group of diasporans at the African American Business Summit in Accra. The event, which is part of the ‘Year of Return’ was to expose the visitors to business and investment opportunities in the country.

Addressing dignitaries at the summit, GIPC’s CEO, Mr Yofi Grant, said there are significant opportunities in sectors including agriculture, manufacturing and production. He explained that while political instability which could disrupt business growth has become a worry for many countries in the sub region, Ghana has justified itself as a politically stable democracy, supporting investments and ensuring business growth for more than two decades.

In a presentation, Mr Grant indicated that the domestic agricultural sector holds several potentials as Ghana is still largely dependent on imported food. “We have tax waivers and other fiscal incentives on agriculture machinery import for investors who wish to embark on large scale farming for export and the domestic market”, he said. Other prospects, the GIPC noted exist in the tourism and hospitality sector, healthcare, ICT, education, value addition and the packaging sectors.

CEO of the Ghana Tourism Authority, Mr Akwasi Agyeman said the main aim of the summit was to present investment prospects in Ghana to the visiting team and to enable them make decisions to participate in the country’s developmental process. “As we want to forget about the terrible days of slavery, we want to now focus more on reaching out to our brothers in the diaspora to consider investing in Ghana and forming business alliances to contribute knowledge and resources to the economy.”

He indicated. At the summit, there were sector and industry presentations on the tourism sector and government’s flagship one district one factory policy.

Source: Goldstreetbusiness.com 

Take Advantage of Government Interventions – GIPC tells Young Entrepreneurs

Participants at the just ended Young Entrepreneurs Forum 2019 (YEF) have been advised to take advantage of government’s current policies and programmes that support young entrepreneurs.

The incentives which include tax holidays, as announced by the Finance Minister – Ken Ofori Atta in 2018 is to provide up to five years break and subsequent tax reductions of up to 20 per cent for particularly young entrepreneurs to enable them to thrive in their businesses.

CEO of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Mr. Yofi Grant, further encouraged the young business leaders gathered at the forum to explore opportunities available at the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (NEIP) which has been primarily set up by government to provide nurturing and incubation for small businesses and start-ups.

Speaking at the third edition of the 2-day programme organized at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra by GIPC, Mr. Grant, stressed the need for entrepreneurs to “build a character of a successful person, which is resilience in the face of adversity”.  Founder and Director of L’aine Services, Dr. Mrs. Ellen Hagan, who was special guest for the occasion admitted that entrepreneurship is tough but rewarding and urged young entrepreneurs to take up apprenticeships to develop their skill sets and “make mistakes on established turfs rather than yours”.

She also highlighted the importance of building structures and systems, defining missions that align with values and most importantly, being financially prudent as a starter.  “Do not employ anyone you cannot correct or discipline or anyone whose values contradict yours”, she guided, adding that, young business owners should be actively involved in managing their business rather than delegating authorities.

CEO of Quick Angels, Mr. Richard Nii Armah Quaye said as a Supporting Sponsor of the Young Entrepreneurs Forum, his outfit is committed to providing equity financing for start-ups and small businesses gathered at the venue. He also encouraged start-ups to stay focused and open their doors for support to ensure business growth.

Masterclass session

The masterclass session of the programme witnessed various captains of industries who shared inspiring real-life experiences on various topics relevant to the audience.  Co-founder of CYST, a software innovation company specialized in artificial intelligence, block chains and payment systems, Mr. Kofi Genfi and Nana Kweku Aforo, Executive Director of BusyPal Trading Services walked the audience through the story of a young entrepreneur, reflecting on their challenges and success stories.

Again, a Digital Transformation Consultant and Strategist in Fintech, Derrydean Dadzie gave an exciting presentation on ‘Transitioning from a start-up to a scale up; creating for improved sales’. MD of Ogilvy and Mather Ghana, Akua Owusu Nartey spoke on Digital Marketing and Global Communications, whereas the Head of Department at the Ashesi University Business school, Dr. Stephen Armah engaged his class on the topic: Global Market Entry, Internationalization and Competitor Analysis.

Thea Sokolowski, Director of Marketing at Meltwater Entrepreneurial School of Technology (MEST) addressed the gathering on Growth Hacking, while the session on Measuring Key Performance Indicators of Growth and Performance Metrics was handled by Daniel Ababio, Manager – Advisory at Ernst & Young.

Pitch session

Trimester Save, a Fintech plus innovative solution for maternal health emerged overall winner of the pitch session organized at the Young Entrepreneurs Forum. The project is initiated by Service Hub Limited, headed by Dr. Elvis Kuma Forson.

Omama Foods and Divine Brainz, both agric companies dealing the processing of nuts and cereals respectively were adjudged first and second runners- up of the contest. CEOs of both companies – Ama Safowaa and Victor Boakye – Yiadom were equally elated and grateful to GIPC for this initiative.

The Prizes

As part of their prizes, all three winners will receive substantial packages from GIPC to support the growth of their businesses. Again, all top three companies will be absorbed into the MEST Accra Incubation Centre for one month.

In addition, they will be profiled on Joy Business (Online, TV and radio) to help create visibility for their brands. To add to this, these front-runners will receive equity financing from Quick Angels as a Supporting Sponsor for the event and will be automatically absorbed into the National Entrepreneurship Innovation Programme (NEIP).

All 13 participants in the pitch session will benefit from a one-day masterclass session and boot camp facilitated by Stanbic Business Incubator.

The Panel

Five successful business owners and professionals were assembled as panel judges – their task was to scrutinize business pitches that were made by 13 carefully screened and selected entrepreneurs who were vying for top spots to receive support in various forms for their businesses.

The panel was made up of Ashwin Racvichandran, Managing Director of MEST Ghana, Richard Nii Armah Quaye, CEO of Quick Angels, Samuel Boateng, AHK, Leticia Browne, CEO – Intelligent Capital and Priscilla Hazel, CEO – Nsano Limited.

Mentorship session

There were 11 tables set up to engage, interact, inspire and mentor young entrepreneurs who were gathered at the programme. CEOs representing various sectors took time off their busy schedules to partake in this very important one -hour session.

These include Kofi Genfi, Co-founder, CYST (Mazzuma), Abena Brigidi, CEO, Nimed Capital Ltd, Mabel Simpson, Founder/Team Lead, mSimps, Bright Owusu-Amofah, CEO, Apolonia City and Anita Wiafe-Osinor, Founder/Head of HR, Occupational Management Ltd (OML Africa).

The others are Chris Koney, Head of Communications/ Entrepreneurs, Royal Commonwealth Society, Richard Nii Armah Quaye, CEO, Quick Angels, Emmanuel Addae, CEO, Talents In Africa, Nana Aforo, Executive Director, BusyPal Trading & Services, Richmond Kwame Frimpong, MD, AsuusaGPS and Yofi Grant, CEO, GIPC.

Attendance

About 400 participants thronged the Omanye Hall of the Labadi Beach Hotel during the two-day event, amidst networking and interactive sessions. These were made up of CEOs of Starts-ups, potential entrepreneurs, investors, government officials, foreign dignitaries, media, exhibitors and students.

A total of 26 exhibitors showcased an array of made-in-Ghana products and services ranging from agric and agro processing, technology, energy, banking and non-banking as well as fashion and lifestyle sectors.

Source: GIPC 

Ghana, Thailand meet over economic cooperation

Senior officials of the governments of Thailand and Ghana have met in the Ghanaian capital, Accra. The Thursday, August 8, 2019, meeting held at Ghana’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration provided the platform for both countries to touch base on various areas of possible cooperation.

It also provided an opportunity for the two countries to suggest ways to improve their economic bonds. The meeting is the first of its kind between the Asian nation and its West African counterpart.

Ambassador Sammie Eddico, speaking at the meeting, called for continuous collaboration between the officials of both countries. He noted that the next Senior Officials meeting would be held in Thailand at a date yet to be decided.

He entreated the Officials to form technical working groups in their respective countries that would monitor the status of implementation of the decisions taken during the meeting.

Source: Dailyguidenetwork.com

The youth is the real engine for economic growth – Yofi Grant

Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, has stated that young entrepreneurs are the future drivers of a stable Ghanaian economy, downplaying assertions that the private sector is the main drive of an economy arguing that the vibrancy and the energy exhibited by start-ups are the essentials for a bright economic future.

“Normally you would hear that it’s the private sector that is the engine of growth. Actually, it’s the youth. The youth is the real engine of growth – it’s the currency of our future economies.” He indicated. The GIPC boss was speaking at the 3rd edition of the Young Entrepreneurs Forum (YEF) held in Accra.

Themed “Connect, Accelerate, Grow: Breaking Boundaries”, the event which saw hundreds of young Start-ups in attendance was to continue the sensitization process of sharing GIPC’s strategy and provisions of the GIPC ACT 865, providing leadership and entrepreneurship training as well as facilitating access to resources, markets and funding for young entrepreneurs.

According to Grant, an economy must not only centre on macro stability but on the growth of a synergy of Start-ups which does not only create more businesses but employment on a larger scale. “I would like to urge you to hold on to your dreams because your dreams are what is going to make this economy great again.

It’s the energy you put in that is going to make this country great again.” Addressing the attendees, he advised them to remain focused as dedication is what enables growth and makes their businesses go global.

Source: Ghanaweb