Category: Business

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Caveman watches, Anthony Dzamefe, has advised student entrepreneurs to consider building brands rather than focusing on creating wealth.

He made this comment on a panel discussion held at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS) in partnership with Society Influencers Foundation themed: ‘Trans-Political Business in Ghana’ on Wednesday March 29, 2023.

According to him, brand-building possesses long-lasting effects compared to focusing on money-making.

“You need to know the difference between doing a business to make money and [creating] a brand,” he asserted. “Young people must know from the beginning, what they want to do, whether they want to build a brand or work for money. Doing business for money is not the best because it doesn’t last for long but building a brand is what would leave it for the next generation,” he said.

Anthony Dzamefe also encouraged young entrepreneurs to have mentors not necessarily for financial remedy but for coaching.

He noted that mentors are not points of financial solutions but sources of guidance and counselling in business avenues.

“Having a mentor is also necessary,” he said. “Your mentor is not your financial remedy. When you have a mentor, plead with them to keep their doors open for guidance and counselling.”

Meanwhile, Anthony Dzamefe urged business leaders to support their subordinates on their business journey.

According to him, the support would massively contribute to the growth of the individual’s business.

“The biggest challenge is not about government but the people you work with,” Dzamefe posited. “It is only when the workers are developing or growing that the company would grow. When you are true to the value you want to create, you hold yourself accountable even the consumer doesn’t know, but you remain true to your value.”

“Most businesses try to cut corners because a lot of the youth are too much in [a] rush to be rich, so they want to hoard as much money as they can,” he said.

Source: Ghana Web

With market uncertainty and the threat of a recession hanging over our heads, some investors might be wondering if now is the time to add gold to their portfolios. After all, gold has garnered a reputation as a hedge against inflation and a safe haven in a tumultuous economic environment.

Here’s a look at whether gold actually lives up to the hype, what questions you should ask before adding the metal to your portfolio, and the options you have should you decide buying gold is right for you.

Is gold a good investment?

Especially in times of market turmoil and rising inflation, gold is often held up as, well, the gold standard. But does it actually deserve that reputation?

Experts have mixed opinions. While gold “is a great hedge against ‘black swans’ — unexpected and catastrophic financial events,” it doesn’t hold up as well during the good times, when it “simply can’t compete and its price tends to languish,” Kiplinger says. Nerdwallet backs up this assertion, noting that, in “the past 30 years, the Dow Jones Industrial Average — a good representation of the overall stock market — has significantly outperformed gold.”

However, while the metal might not produce much in terms of income, it can offer diversification, as “its price tends to move in the opposite direction of stock prices — and often against bond prices, too,” Kiplinger writes. Further, it can provide what Tony Roth, head of wealth management strategies at UBS, describes as “psychological value.” Indeed, “nervous investors might want to hold anywhere from 5 percent to 20 percent of their portfolios in gold for ‘downside protection,'” Kiplinger summarizes, per Roth.

What are the different ways you can invest in gold?

Gold stocks: One way investors can purchase gold is by buying stock in a gold-mining company. This allows you to select which companies you invest in. And while you won’t physically own gold, you’ll be able to sell a stock at any time.

However, mining stocks “are affected by many factors other than the metal’s price, including stock market conditions and the company’s management,” which “can make individual stock prices considerably more volatile than the metal itself — and the metal is plenty volatile on its own,” Kiplinger notes.

Gold funds: Another option is investing in gold exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or mutual funds. Funds provide “more liquidity than owning physical gold and offer a level of diversification that a single stock does not,” Nerdwallet writes. Still, investors will want to watch out for the management fees that some funds charge.

Gold futures: With gold futures, investors enter into a legal contract to either buy or sell a specified amount of gold at some point in the future. In this way, investors can potentially profit from changes in the price of gold. The upsides are greater liquidity than physical gold and no management fees like the ones funds might charge (though trade fees may apply).

However, “trading futures contracts involves a lot of risk and isn’t a suitable investment option for an inexperienced investor,” Nerdwallet cautions. Further, there is the potential to lose money beyond the amount you invested.

Physical gold: And yes, it is also possible to purchase actual, physical gold — think gold bars, gold coins, or even gold jewelry. But with this method of investing come the associated challenges of storage and insurance, not to mention buying and selling.

Does gold make sense for your portfolio?

As you can see, investing in gold and the different methods of doing so each have their pros and cons. To help determine if gold is something you’d like to add to your portfolio, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Are you hoping to minimize risk and weather economic uncertainty? If you’re worried about risk during economic uncertainty, gold might make sense as an investment. Indeed, while the value of stocks “can fluctuate wildly from day to day, gold’s value remains largely stable, making it a great way to preserve value in your portfolio,” explains CBS News. Further, “[i]n six of the last eight biggest stock market crashes in the last 40 years, gold prices went up.”

Are you worried about inflation? Gold is often held up as a solid hedge against inflation, and it’s true that, generally speaking, “the price of gold doesn’t track inflation,” Kiplinger says. However, it’s also “true that during periods of extraordinarily high inflation, gold’s price may soar.” A better bet for a “guaranteed inflation hedge” is Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities.

Are you looking for higher returns? If high returns are what you’re after, gold likely isn’t the investment to turn to. Kiplinger says that “despite some illustrious returns in the 1970s and the first decade of the 21st century, gold has generated disappointing long-term returns compared to stocks.” And though stocks might be higher risk, “as part of a balanced portfolio, they can help boost your balance in the long run,” adds CBS News.

Are you wanting to receive dividends?

Unlike stocks, which can allow you to earn regular dividends, you likely won’t get any money out of gold until you go to sell it. An exception here might be dividend-earning gold stocks or ETFs, but “[i]f you want an investment that provides an income stream, stocks are likely the better choice,” says CBS News.

Source: Ghana Web

The Tema Oil Refinery has been cut off from the national power grid over failure to settle a GH¢26 million debt owed to the Electricity Company of Ghana, a citinewsroom.com report has said.

According to the ECG, the huge sum is an accumulation of unpaid power bills covering several months.

The report noted that although TOR had paid about GH¢5 million of the total debt last week, the management of the refinery failed to settle the outstanding debt as scheduled.

The ECG taskforce were said to have taken the entire facility off the national power grid and have since served notice it will restore power when the debt is fully cleared.

In addition to the nationwide revenue mobilisation exercise, the ECG has also disconnected the power supply of Adi Steel Company, a steel manufacturing company located in Tema.

The company is said to be owing a debt of GH¢6 million and has defaulted on the bill thereby leaving it without power until the debt is settled.

Around the Nungua area, the Regional Maritime University was affected by the disconnection exercise for owing ECG about GH¢300,000. The entire university was cut off on Thursday March 30, 2023.

The ECG on March 20, 2023, embarked on a nationwide revenue mobilisation exercise. The company is targeting to collect a debt of about GH¢5.7 billion owed by various ministries, departments and agencies, state-owned enterprises, postpaid and prepaid customers across the country.

Source: Ghana Web

In the new digital economy, digital transformation or financial technology has become a central issue of great concern. The pace at which technology is transforming the world and having a significant impact across the globe is unprecedented. The innovations brought by technology have given rise to the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), robotics and the Internet of things (IoT). It should be noted that though the advancement and the rise in the use of technology looks promising it comes with its own challenges. In addition to challenges, the outbreak of COVID-19, which claimed many lives, also presented new opportunities. The pandemic accelerated the use of technology to transact business and re-shaped all sectors of the global economy. The use of technology in the financial sector has brought tremendous innovations in the global financial sector. Financial technological (Fintech) firms are harnessing the importance of technology to produce innovative products, meet customers’ expectations and reduce human interaction with their customers. This paper aims to shed light on the threat Fintech firms are posing to Ghanaian banks. This paper is intended as an addition to the existing scholarship on risk management and financial technology.

The objective of this paper is to determine if Financial technological firms (Fintech) are posing a threat to Ghanaian banks or can augment banking services?

Overview of Financial Technology (Fintech)

At the outset, it is imperative to define the key concept “Financial Technology” (used interchangeably with digital transformation). A burgeoning body of research has described Fintech as the use of technology to improve and make financial services convenient for customers within the financial sector (Barberis, 2014; Schueffel, 2016; Cho, 2021). Contemporary international institutions have defined Fintech as the use of technology to provide financial services (Financial Stability Board – FSB, 2017; IMF, 2018; World Bank, 2022). This paper defines Fintech as innovations in the financial sector because of the use of software and mobile applications to enhance services to customers. It is worth noting that digital transformation has made transactions smarter and virtual. Fintech firms provide several services, notably, crowdfunding/peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, mobile payment systems, blockchain /Cryptocurrencies, regulation technology (Regtech) and regulatory sandbox as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robo advisors. These services are provided to individuals, households and business owners.

In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Fintech firms are making considerable progress to catch up with the Big technological giants like PayPal, Stripe, AliPay and Ant technology. The progress made by SSA Fintech firms looks promising and these firms need the necessary support to expand their services to other continents. According to the World Bank (2017), developing countries like Kenya has made remarkable progress in achieving financial inclusion with mobile technology. The M-Pesa model has been key to achieving this feat because the approach adopted by the Central Bank of Kenya has permitted financial institutions and non-bank institutions to provide mobile money payment. This approach has ensured that 80 percent of Kenya’s population use mobile money services (World Bank, 2017). Kenya is leading SSA in the fintech industry followed by South Africa and Nigeria (Global Fintech Ratings Report, GFRR, 2021). A well-known example of SSA ranking in the Fintech industry is illustrated in Table 1.

Table 1 provides an overview of rankings of SSA countries in the global Fintech industry according to the location/city, services provided by the Fintech firms and the supporting IT infrastructure as well as facilities needed by the Fintech firms to operate. It can be inferred that Kenya met these requirements set out by the Global Fintech index ratings. Kenya should be commended for placing first in SSA and 31st globally. This suggests that Fintech firms in Kenya are utilizing opportunities provided by Fintech to expand their operations and provide innovative services to their customers.

Lukonga (2018) makes a meaning contribution to why Fintech firms are booming in Kenya. He argues that the use and adopting of mobile money to transact business specifically, deposit, transfer as well as pay for goods and services is a major reason why Fintech firms are thriving in Kenya. The use of “M-pesa”, a mobile banking service that allows its users to receive and send money through their phones without internet. “M-pesa” is a leading Africa’s mobile payment service owned by both Vodafone and Safaricom. Some services provided by M-pesa to its users are deposit, money transfer, withdrawal, savings, access to credit as well as payment for goods and services. These services have made “M-pesa” a successful mobile payment service provided in Kenya. The World Bank (2016) points out that, the reason why Kenya has been successful in the use of mobile technology thus “M-pesa” is due to it favorable regulation. The central bank of Kenya has been flexible in regulating mobile payment services by favoring all banks, non-banks and mobile network operators to provide mobile money services. The flexibility of the regulation of mobile services has ensured that 80 percent of Kenya’s population use mobile money services.

It has been argued that the required IT infrastructure such as the availability of electricity in every part of the country, cellular/mobile network technologies like 5th generation mobile network (5G) is essential to accelerate internet connectivity; upgrading the payment systems that will facilitate the clearing and settlement of financial transactions; access to capital for Fintech firms and the availability of skills/talent in the field of engineering, programming and ICT has been the important reasons why Kenya is thriving in the Fintech industry globally (Lukonga, 2018). For Ghana to catch up with Kenya and to perform better in the Fintech industry globally, the government should invest hugely in IT infrastructure, identify IT talents/skills, establish a favorable business environment to provide capital to Fintech firms and protect consumers.

Ghana’s Fintech Industry

Ghana is currently ranked 71st according to the 2021 GFRR. Ghana can improve on it position if the government invests and creates the necessary IT infrastructure for Fintech firms to operate. The Australia Africa Chamber of Commerce (AACC, 2022) suggests that Ghana’s journey towards Fintech started in 1997 when the erstwhile Social Security Bank introduced a card called “sika card” to allow cashless transaction among its customers. In 2008, the government of Ghana introduced e-zwich, a smart payment system to be used in banks and other financial institutions to promote cashless transactions. This paper argues that these initiatives by the government did not reach their potential because digital illiteracy was high at the time of its introduction.

Ghana’s Fintech industry has played a key role in transforming Ghana’s financial sector and the Ghanaian economy. Ghana’s Fintech industry is utilizing the opportunity provided by technology to provide jobs for people with skills in IT, providing swift, convenient and innovative digital services to customers as well as expanding its customer base. Ghana’s Fintech industry is growing rapidly and is boosting Ghana’s digital transformation agenda. Recent statistics from the Bank of Ghana show that forty-six (46) Fintech firms have been registered and provided with a license to operate (BoG, 2022). Licenses have been issued to mobile money operators and payment service providers. The Fintech firms are registered and given licenses based on the services they render. The license is grouped into three (3) categories namely, Dedicated Electronic Money Issuer (DEMI), Payment Service Provider (PSP Enhanced, Medium and Standard) and lastly Payment and Financial Technology Service Provider (PFTSP).

The pie chart above shows the breakdown of the total Fintech firms in Ghana according to their category. The PSP (Enhanced) has been issued with 34 licenses, followed by DEMI, 5; PSP (Medium, 4); PSP (Standard, 2) and PFTSP, 1 license. These Fintech firms are driving and transforming Ghana’s fintech ecosystem. This paper commends the government of Ghana for establishing the necessary IT infrastructure and creating an enabling environment for fintech firms to thrive. The government is encouraged to do better to ensure Ghana performs better in the GFRR rankings to attract more investors into the economy. It is notable from the pie chart that Ghana’s Fintech industry is dominated by payment service providers. Fintech firms in Ghana have adopted innovative ways to make transaction easier, simpler and more convenient than traditional banks. In his paper, I argue that the use of smart phones has been a major driver in the Fintech industry in Ghana. The services provided by Fintech firms in Ghana has led to an increase in intermediary efficiency, data usage and a lower transaction cost.

Positive welfare effects (benefits) of Fintech to the Ghanaian economy

Fintech has proven to be a driving force in the global financial sector. It uses the internet to expedite and simplify the provision of financial services. It helps individuals, households and businesses to undertake several financial services such as online lending, digital payments, online trading, peer-to-peer lending (P2P), business-to-business lending (B2B), international money transfer, online foreign exchange trading. Fintech can generate positive welfare effects (benefits) such as; enhance intermediary efficiency, reduce information asymmetry and expand financial inclusion. This paper argue that Fintech offers a lot of opportunities and benefits to spur Ghana’s economic growth. Some opportunities and benefits provided by Fintech are; it can attract investment into Ghana’s economy, expand financial inclusion, enhance intermediary efficiency in Ghana’s financial sector, promote technological innovation and increase industrial productivity.

Attract investment into Ghana’s economy

Fintech firms provide services at a reduced cost to the unbanked population and have increased remittances across the border. It should be noted that Fintech firms provides swift, convenient and affordable services. KPMG (2022) claims that Fintech payment continues to soar in Asia and Africa. These countries are attracting a lot of investment. Africa attracted $1.6 billion worth of investment with Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa been the beneficiary countries . A Nigerian fintech firm by name OPay recently secured an investment worth $400 million from a Japanese venture capital firm SoftBank venture capital. Also in Asia, an India online payment company BillDesk was acquired by Prosus by an amount of $4.7 billion. The World Bank (2022) share similar view suggesting that digital payment continues to dominate countries like Kenya, China as well as Bangladesh and these countries are attracting a lot of investment into their economy. This study propose that the government of Ghana should invest hugely in IT infrastructure and create the enabling business environment to ensure that Fintech firms in Ghana attracts such investment. It is worth mentioning that the Global Fintech investment at the end of 2021 amounted to $210 billion attracting 5,684 deals (KPMG, 2022).

Expand financial inclusion in Ghana

Fintech firms can make financial products and services accessible and affordable to individuals, households and businesses regardless of their location. The use of mobile applications, online platforms and technology specifically AI, blockchain/cryptocurrency can promote inclusive growth. These technologies can help financial institutions in their operations such as credit risk management, detect fraud and close the income inequality gap. In Ghana some Fintech firms like Korba, eTranzact, Hubtel amongst others collaborates with banks, insurance companies, mobile money operators to provide financial services such as the payment of utility bills, online digital payment and funds transfer. Ghana’s Fintech sector is dominated by mobile payment. Recent statistics from the Bank of Ghana shows that active mobile money account has increased from 17.9 million at the end of 2021 to 20.4 million at the end of December, 2022 (BoG, 2023) .

Active mobile money agents have also soared to 505 thousand from 442 thousand from the end of December, 2021 to end December, 2022. This suggest that mobile payment plays an important role in the financial inclusion process. Lukonga (2018) claims that in Kenya mobile payment have been stationed at every part of the country to provide services to the unbanked population. The use of mobile technology has increased financial inclusion in Kenya and is not surprising that 80 percent of Kenya’s population use mobile technology to access financial services (see World Bank, 2016). In this paper I argue that regulators of mobile money in Kenya have put in place a friendly financial inclusion policy and an enabling business environment that has accelerated the financial inclusion in Kenya. To ensure that Ghana achieve 85% of its financial inclusion by 2023 as stated in the National Financial Inclusion and Development Strategy (NFIDS) then the Bank of Ghana is encouraged to formulate friendly financial inclusion policies to enable Ghana to achieve that feat.

Promotes technological innovation and increase industrial productivity

Fintech has brought innovations into the global financial sector, increasing productivity and minimizing corruption. Fintech firms are utilizing data effectively to help financial institutions make informed decisions and reduce human error. In advanced countries, financial institutions notably, banks are now using data, machine learning tools as well as AI to improve service delivery and to make better decisions. According to KPMG (2022) banks like Standard Chartered Bank, Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) are now using Quantexa to handle records, solve financial crime, and make faster, accurate and informed decisions. Quantexa is a global software analytics and data organization located in the UK that uses modern technology in big data and AI to make informed decisions relating to customer intelligence, credit risk and data management. Fintech has changed the face of banking. Banks have accepted to use big data and AI to build their core-banking engine. Banks have added value to their services using a modern core banking platform called Thought Machine Vault to move core banking systems to the cloud.

Clients can now access banking services everywhere and any time. The Thought Machine Vault is designed to enable banks to overcome their infrastructure challenge and meet client’s needs. Reputable banks such as Standard Chartered, Lloyds Banking Group, JP Morgan Chase are now on the vault platform called Thought Machine Vault. It should be noted that in as much as Fintech has led to a reduction in labor cost, it has the tendency to increase unemployment with use of technology in banks.

Challenges Fintech can pose to Ghana’s economy

Lukonga (2018) points out that Fintech firms presents some risks like cyberattacks, data privacy as well as consumer protection and that cyber-attack poses a significant risk. In the same line of thought, the World Bank (2022) holds the view that regulators are struggling to supervise Fintech business models and their operations. According to IMF (2018) cyberattacks have the tendency of posing systematic risk, destabilizing the financial system and be an obstacle in achieving financial inclusion. Ghana’s financial sector has experienced a surge in fraud among Electronic Money Issuers (EMI – Mobile Money – MoMo) whiles Banks and Special Deposit Institutions (SDI) have witnessed a reduction in fraud cases. At the end of 2021, EMI (MoMo) experienced an increase in fraud resulting to a loss of GH¢12.8 million from 12,350 MOMO related fraud incidents reported (BoG, 2021). Banks and SDI saw a marginal decline in fraud cases from 2,670 in 2020 to 2,347 in 2021 representing a fall in fraud cases in 12.09 % . The foregoing suggests that Mobile money fraud is on the rise and the central bank should educate EMI on ways to prevent mobile money fraud and tighten cyber security.

Services provided by Fintech firms

Some services provided by Fintech are; cryptocurrencies/blockchain, crowdfunding/peer-2-peer, mobile payments systems, regulation technology (Regtech) and regulatory sandbox, lastly Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robo advisors. These trends have transformed the global financial sector.

Cryptocurrency/Blockchain

Countries like Egypt, Iran and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have shown strong interest in cryptocurrency and are using it to attract investors into their countries. Similarly, countries such as Armenia, Gerogia and Kazakhstan are in advance stage in the use cryptocurrency by putting up ATMs to facilitate the use of cryptocurrency and have issued Initial Coin Offers (ICO) in Bitcoin (Lukonga, 2018). In contrast, some countries are having challenges accepting cryptocurrency as a legal tender because of the lack of regulation to back it use. Cryptocurrency is a digital currency exchanged via a decentralized ledger (DLT) such as a blockchain. The IMF calls cryptocurrency virtual currency. On the other hand, a block chain is a technology that enables a cryptocurrency to work. Examples of cryptocurrency are bitcoin, Ethereum, cardano, binance coin and dogecoin. According to the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (2017), the global market value of cryptocurrency surged from $18 billion to $660 billion from 2017 to 2018. Investment in the global cryptocurrency and blockchain industry increased to $30 billion in 2021 from $8.2 billion in 2018 (KPMG, 2022). The increase in investment in the cryptocurrency industry has called for stakeholders to mount pressure on regulators to regulate the crypto sector and come up with clear policy guidelines as well as rules regarding the trading of cryptocurrency.

IMF (2022) maintains that it is important to regulate cryptocurrency to protect consumers from losing huge amounts of money. In SSA, countries like Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa have the largest crypto users and crypto transactions as at mid-2021 amounted to $20 billion. Countries such as El Salvador and the Central African Republic are using Bitcoin as legal tender. This paper argues that the lack of regulation backing cryptocurrency may weaken monetary policy and create financial as well as macroeconomic instability. In Ghana, cryptocurrency is considered illegal. To protect consumers, ensure financial inclusion as well as macroeconomic stability, the IMF/World bank are considering adopting a digital currency called Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) to be issued by central banks. The CBDC is a digital or electronic money in digital form of fiat currency to be controlled and issued by central banks. Countries like Bahamas has adopted and rolled out CBDC while in SSA, Nigeria has fully rolled out its CBDC called eNaira in October 2021 (IMF, 2021; World Bank, 2022). Ghana has made remarkable progress in adopting the digital currency called eCedi. The Bank of Ghana in August 2021 collaborated Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) a global security group based in Munich, Germany to pilot the CBDC (eCedi) as part of the government’s Digital Ghana Agenda. Ghana’s digital Agenda seeks to promote a cashless economy and expedite payment with the use of smartphone.

Crowdfunding/Peer-2-Peer

Crowdfunding is an online lending platform that raises funds/capital for an individual/businesses or group of people. P2P is also an online platform that seeks to lend/borrow money to individuals/businesses/group of people. These online platforms help investors get access to credit to fund their business. Crowdfunding is the second most dominated sector of Fintech and countries like UAE, Jordan have these platforms for donations (Lukonga, 2018). Customers and businesses who engage in crowdfunding/P2P are exposed to fraud, misappropriation of funds and lose their money at the end (World Bank 2022). Lack of regulation governing online funding and consumer protection has affected the operations of crowding/P2P firms.

Table 2 shows how crowdfunding/P2P experienced an astronomical growth from 2013 to 2018 from $11.680 billion (USD) to $301.7 billion (USD). Funding volume grew globally to $301.7 billion in 2018; but the annual growth rate declined by 28% in 2018. The fall in decline was caused by China due to lack of regulation of crowdfunding/P2P. In 2016, as many as 1 million investors lost US $7.6 billion through a scandal. After the scandal, the government of China has been very strict and have formulated laws to regulate crowdfunding/P2P (Ernst and Young, 2016). SSA is performing considerably well in the crowdfunding /P2P sector. Lack of regulation, consumer protection and data privacy has become an issue of great concern in the capital raining activity market.

Mobile payments systems

Mobile payment is playing a significant role in the global financial inclusion process and Ghana is no exception. Mobile money transactions have expanded financial inclusion globally in terms of value and volume of transactions. SSA has experienced an exponential growth in mobile money transactions (in terms of value and volume) from 2017 to 2020 amounting to $ 180 trillion (World Bank, 2022). Ghana has experienced a significant growth in mobile money transactions. Figure 2 presents a summary of statistics of mobile money transactions in terms of number and the value of transactions from December 2018 to December 2022. The value of transactions soared from 22.6 billion cedis in 2018 to 122 billion cedis in 2022. Similarly, the value of the number of transactions rose from 150 million cedis from 2018 December to 488 million cedis in 2022.

Methodology

The study is a review literature and qualitative. It reviewed several papers on Fintech, the positive welfare of Fintech and used secondary data from the central bank to determine how Fintech might negatively affect Ghana’s mobile payment system as well as the threat it poses to Ghana’s banking sector.

Key Findings

Value and Volume of Mobile Money Transactions in Ghana from December, 2018 to December, 2022.

Note: This bar graph summarizes mobile money transactions (number and value of transactions) from December 2018 to December, 2022. Adapted from (BoG, 2022).

Regulation technology (Regtech) and regulatory sandbox

Regtech is the application of technology (such as application programming interface (API), Know Your Customers, KYC) to detect fraud, manage risk and protect consumers as well as investors (CCAF, 2019). The objective of Regtech is to strictly regulate Fintech firms to ensure they operate effectively and efficiently. Regulation compliance has become very expensive after the Global Financial Crisis in 2008/9 and Fintech firms that violate Regtech laws are fined huge amounts of money. Regtech requires Fintech firms to use technologies such as machine learning, robotics, artificial intelligence, blockchain and API to perform functions like; monitoring payments transactions (particularly in real-time), modelling, scenario analysis and forecasting and monitoring financial institution’s internal culture and behavior. Regtech also requires Fintech firms to use risk assessment tools like – Risk Based Capital (RBC) regulations (by Basle III and by national supervisory bodies), liquidity coverage ratio (LCR), Net Stable Funding Ratio (NSFR). Global investment in Regtech amounted to $10 billion at the end of 2021 in the cryptocurrency sector and due to Merger and Acquisition (KPMG, 2022). Countries like the USA is attracting significant investment in Regtech because Goldman Sachs opened 9,000 branches in Bangalore, India to specialize in risk management whiles the regulators of financial institutions in Singapore have strengthen the use of AI technology to improve it governance structure and to help identify risks in the financial sector.

Similarly, regulatory sandbox is a safe environment with regulations for exploring and experimenting with new technologies and methods to bring innovations into the Fintech industry (Ringe and Ruof, 2018; World Bank, 2022). Regulatory sandbox seeks to promote competitions, attract new firms into the Fintech ecosystem and ensure that consumers benefit. Some countries that have started using regulatory sandbox are; UK adopted it in 2016, Hong Kong in 2016, Malaysia in 2016, Mauritius in 2017, Canada in 2017 and South Korea in 2019 (Ringe and Ruof, 2018). For a Fintech firm to be granted access to the sandbox, Fintech firms are required to meet certain entry conditions such as; does the Fintech firm protect consumers? If the firm satisfies the condition, then the firm must apply for a sandbox, go through screening and then granted the sandbox.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robo advisors

Fintech firms have successfully adopted artificial intelligence (AI) to produce innovative goods and services. AI is the use of computer systems to perform human tasks such as thinking, learning, visual prescription and decision making to replicate the human brain. According to OECD (2019), AI is spreading quickly and is transforming the world of work, financial institutions as well as the society due to some characteristics it exhibits. AI shows some features like thinking, learning and self-improvement. Fintech firms have adopted and are applying AI to enhance service delivery in credit risk management and generating revenue. The Big technological giants like Alpha Go have adopted and implementing AI in on-line consulting, personal banking, asset management with little human involvement. It should be noted that technology is the main driver of AI. AI processes big data to generate high value insights. It has been argued that by the year 2027, 23 percent of China’s workforce will experience severe job losses in the financial sector due the adopting and the use of AI among Fintech firms (He and Guo, 2018 as cited in CCAF, 2020). It is imperative to note that AI technology will replace humans, and this should be an issue of great concern.

A robo advisor on the other hand, is an on-line tool that gives financial advice. A robo advisor is an online investment tool that advice customers on financial products and investment (Ringe and Ruof, 2018). World bank (2022) claims that in some advanced economy like the USA robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront have expanded the financial inclusion through the provision of convenient investment advice to consumers; however, they pose significant risk like systematic risk, operational and cyber risks. This paper suggests that it is critical for robo-advisors to be properly regulated to ensure they don’t pose risks to consumers to lose confidence in the Fintech industry.

Figure 3 shows an overview of the services provided by Fintech firms. It is apparent from this figure that the services provided by Fintech firms are; Cryptocurrencies/blockchain, crowdfunding/peer-2-peer, mobile payments systems, regulation technology (Regtech) and regulatory sandbox as well as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robo advisors. From the figure it can be seen that Ghana can benefit from Fintech in several ways, it can attract investment into the country, expand the financial inclusion, enhance intermediary efficiency, promote technological innovation and enhance industrial productivity. In contrast, Fintech firms may pose significant risk to the Ghanian economy in the form of cyber security attack, data privacy, systematic risk and fraud.

Ghana’s Banking Sector

So far, this paper has focused on the Fintech industry in SSA and Ghana. The following part will discuss Ghana’s banking sector and if Fintech firms are posing a threat to their operations. Ghana currently boasts of 23 Universal Banks licensed by the Bank of Ghana (BoG, 2021). Generally, banks are institutions given a license to operate, their activities are regulated and supervised by a central bank to undertake banking services like deposits, lending, investment and provision of financial advice. Can it be suggested that the services provided by banks are at risk due to the fast rising and expanding Fintech firms in Ghana? Fintech firms provide fast, reliable and innovative services to their clients, meet customers’ expectations and clients see no reason why they should go to banks to join long queues to transact business. Have the services provided by Fintech firms leapfrogged banking services even though Fintech firms have not been issued a license to accept deposits by the Central Bank? The speed at which Fintech firms are expanding in Ghana looks promising but the question of whether they are posing a threat to Ghanaian banks, are consumers/customer protected and issues of cyber security should be of critical concern to stakeholders in Ghana’s Fintech industry.

This paper argues that banks are lagging in the use of AI to improve banking services and to meet customers’ needs. It is worth noting that though Fintech firms are providing digital and innovative services, their services cannot replace human decision at the banks. Ghanaian banks have made modest progress in going digital. In June 2022, the BoG together with the Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) introduced a novel mobile application called “GhanaPay” to merge banking services. The GhanaPay is a mobile money application that allows banks to offer banking and mobile money services on a digital platform. Though a good initiative by both the BoG and GhIPSS, it faced a lot of criticisms because mobile money platforms already perform these functions. Additionally, stakeholders in the financial sector further criticized the government to improve banking services and introduce innovative services like open banking as well as Know Your Customers (KYC) .

Table 3 is quite revealing in several ways. First, it explains the difference between fintech firms and banks. Whereas fintech firms are leveraging on technology (AI), machine learning and deep learning to enhance service delivery at a lower cost, banks in contrast, are leveraging on technology to improve existing banking products. It is imperative to state that though Fintech firms are driven mostly using technology and big data, human decisions cannot be ignored and replaced. This suggests why banks are also relevant in the Fintech ecosystem. This paper suggests that banks should consider forming a strong partnership or merging with Fintech firms to enable banks to harness the benefits of technology.

Conclusion

The focus of this paper has been to assess whether Fintech firms are posing a threat to Ghanaian banks and if they can augment banking services by offering a broad critical examination of the field. It has concentrated on the Fintech industry globally and in SSA, Ghana’s banking sector, as well as difference between Fintech firms and banks.

First, the paper identified Fintech as innovations in the financial sector as a result of the use of software and mobile applications to enhance services to customers. Fintech has transformed the financial sector globally and made transactions smarter and virtual. The most obvious finding to emerge from this study is that Fintech firms provide several services like cryptocurrency/blockchain, crowdfunding/P2P lending, mobile payment systems, Regulation Technology (Regtech) and Regulatory Sandbox, lastly, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robo Advisors. The most interesting finding was that in Sub-Sahara Africa (SSA) countries like Kenya is ranked 31st globally, followed by South Africa 44th and Nigeria 57th.

Secondly, Ghana, currently ranked 71st globally in the recent 2021 GFRR can perform better if the government invests in IT infrastructure such as the provision of electricity in all part of the country, upgrade all cellular/mobile network technologies into 5th generation mobile network (5G) to accelerate internet connectivity as well as upgrading the payment systems to facilitate the clearing and settlement of financial transactions as done in Kenya to enable it perform better in the global Fintech rating index.

The study has gone some way towards enhancing our understanding between Fintech firms and banks as well as establishing whether Fintech firms are posing a threat to banks. Fintech firms uses technology (Mobile money app, blockchain network/cryptocurrency, P2P/Crowdfunding) to provide digital services to customers whereas banks are institutions with structures, given a license by it regulator to operate banking services like deposit, lending, investment and providing advisory services; Fintech are platform oriented that uses data, AI, machine learning whereas banks are account opening oriented; Fintech firms cannot accept deposits because they have not been issued a license whereas banks accept deposits; and lastly, whereas Fintech firms do not need human presence to transact business, banks need human presence to make decisions. This paper argues that Fintech firms are posing a threat to Ghanaian banks because of the services there are providing and suggests that banks should consider forming a strong partnership/merging with fintech firms to provide innovative services.

Policy Recommendations

The study has assessed how Fintech firms have transformed Ghana’s economy and how these firms are posing a threat to Ghanaian banks. It is necessary to propose some key recommendations to the Government, Bank of Ghana, Ministry of Finance, Ghana Association of Bankers, Security and Exchange Commission as well as key stakeholders in the financial sector to consider amending banking laws, establish the necessary IT infrastructure and harness the benefits of technology to ensure fintech firms spur economic growth.

Regulators of Fintech should consider reviewing policies on mobile payment system

Fintech firms are playing a key role in the financial inclusion process and regulators should consider reviewing mobile payment system policies to align with recent technological changes to meet customers’ needs. To ensure an efficient financial inclusion system in Ghana, the Bank of Ghana should consider reviewing it regulatory policies to favor all banks, non-banks and mobile network operators to expand the provision of mobile money services as done in Kenya. The central bank of Kenya has adopted a functional approach of regulating mobile payment systems instead of an institutional approach. The functional approach has permitted all financial institutions (banks and non-banks) to undertake mobile payment. Since Ghana’s Fintech industry is dominated by mobile payment system, the Bank of Ghana should consider adopting Kenya’s model to ensure mobile payments services is extended to the unbanked population.

Government should consider investing in IT infrastructure and creating the enabling business environment to help close the gap

For Ghana to improve on it ranking in the global fintech rating report and to compete with countries like Kenya, South Africa and Nigeria, it is imperative for the government through the Ministry of Communication and Digitalization (MoCD) to consider investing in Ghana’s IT infrastructure such as upgrading mobile technology network; investing in fiber optic, providing reliable electricity across the country and upgrading payment systems infrastructure. The MoCD should engage stakeholders in the telecommunication industry on the best way to upgrade Ghana’s mobile network to 5th generational mobile network (5G) to improve the speed of internet connections and how to make internet affordable to the average Ghanaian. To ensure a reliable source of electricity across the country, it is critical for the government through the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to collaborate with the Electricity Company of Ghana and relevant stakeholders to expand and provide electricity coverage to communities in the rural areas. In addition, the government through the MoCD should collaborate with Ghana Interbank Payment and Settlement System (GhIPSS) and other stakeholders to upgrade Ghana’s payment systems to facilitate the clearing and settlement of financial transactions on time as done in Kenya.

Banks should consider merging with Fintech firms and introduce innovative products

Fintech firms leverage on technology, data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to produce innovative products for their customers. Fintech firms are known for providing fast, reliable and convenient services to their customers at a reduced cost. These services have become a competitive advantage to Fintech firms and have won the confidence of customers. Ghanaian banks are encouraged to invest in technology, artificial intelligent and machine learning to produce innovative products. In addition, banks are encouraged to consider partnering or merging with Fintech firms to provide efficient services. In advanced economies there has been an increase in mergers and acquisitions between banks and Fintech firms. The merger and acquisitions have attracted 275 deals worth $36.2 billion. Also, since banks are given licenses to accept deposit and Fintech firms are not, banks merging with Fintech firms will expand their customer base.

Banks should consider recruiting professionals in IT, engineering, programming and data science analytics to be able to use data meaningfully to make investment decisions, detect fraud and manage credit risks.

Data literacy and cyber security should be intensified

Mobile money fraud has been on the rise in Ghana in recent times and to reduce the fraud among mobile money operators and individuals, it is important for the Bank of Ghana, Telecommunications industries and other stakeholders in the Fintech sector to intensify and educate citizens about ways to prevent mobile money fraud and to report any suspected fraud to the Ghana police service. The media should actively be involved in educating customers on mobile money fraud and ways to prevent customers’ accounts from been hacked by fraudsters.

Again, Regulators of Fintech and the Data Protection Commission should consider educating citizens, stakeholders in the fintech industry on data protection and privacy as well as ensuring that Fintech firms comply with data protection laws

Source: Ghana Web

Professor Mrs. Rita Akosua Dickson, Vice-Chancellor of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) says it is imperative that Africa takes the investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and its responsible use seriously.

“AI holds much promise and is seen as a game changer in transforming the digital economy.

“Therefore, institutions of higher learning in the sub-Region should focus on programmes that are directed at equipping the next generation with the requisite tools to lead the digital revolution,” the Vice-Chancellor advised.

Prof. Mrs. Dickson was addressing a conference dubbed: “Responsible AI and Ethics – A Panacea to Digital Transformation in Sub-Saharan Africa”, held at the Great Hall, Kumasi.

The programme was held under the auspices of the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL), KNUST, and the Responsible Artificial Intelligence Network (RAIN) Africa, which seeks to promote the responsible adaptation and use of AI in sub-Saharan Africa.

It discussed topics ranging from AI in Healthcare, AI and Human Rights, and AI Applications to the Role of Afrocentric Datasets in Promoting Responsible AI in Africa.

There were also presentations on the normative issues of AI from a business and human rights perspective, AI ethics and machine learning for identifying teenage patients at risk of gestation hypertension.

The role of ‘Afrocentric’ datasets in promoting responsible AI in Africa, as well as AI ethics in finance were also looked at.

The two-day Conference comes in the wake of the varied challenges confronting the continent in developing AI such as a dearth of investment, a paucity of specialised talent and lack of access to the latest global research.

Researchers argue that these hurdles are being whittled down, albeit slowly, thanks to African ingenuity and to investments by multinational companies such as IBM Research, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon, which have all opened AI labs in Africa.

Innovative forms of trans-continental collaboration such as Deep Learning Indaba (a Zulu word for gathering), which is fostering a community of AI researchers in Africa, and Zindi, a platform that challenges African data scientists to solve the continent’s toughest challenges, are gaining ground.

This is buoyed by the recent influx of several globally-trained African experts in AI.

“Digital development tools are the key enablers to drive economic transformation,” Prof. Dickson stated, stressing the need for AI solutions to be developed and deployed responsibly.

The rights and privileges of the human person must not be trampled upon in deploying AI solutions, the Vice-Chancellor cautioned, adding that datasets based on which models were trained should not be biased.

Prof. Kwabena Biritwum Nyarko, Provost of the College of Engineering, KNUST, said the theme for the conference was relevant and timely, because AI was transforming the way “we live and work and we are only beginning to scratch the surface of the potential of AI”.

According to the Provost, AI was making significant strides in various fields and expected to transform many industries in the coming years.

Due to that, the challenges of AI in data privacy, bias and ethical concerns must be addressed, he said.

He said the College of Engineering was committed to ensuring the success of the RAIN and RAIL activities, noting that that was clearly demonstrated by the KNUST College of Engineering hosting the first RAIL and RAIN Conference.

Prof. Jerry John Kponyo, Principal Investigator and Scientific Director, RAIL and RAIN Cofounder, RAIN Africa, said the RAIL and RAIN Conference was the fruit of five years of collaboration between the Faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering, College of Engineering KNUST, and the Institute of Ethics in Artificial Intelligence (IEAI), Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany.

“Like the biblical mustard seed, what began as a collaboration between two institutions to serve as a voice of advocacy for the responsible use of Artificial Intelligence has grown to become a robust network of at least thirteen universities and organizations in the sub-Region,” he said.

Through the experience drawn from working in RAIN, the KNUST team, through funding from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), set up a Responsible Artificial Intelligence Lab (RAIL) to serve as a vehicle for building capacity in the responsible use of AI in the sub-Region, Prof. Kponyo said.

Source: Ghana Web

Don’t get too close to a Husband and Wife who are in good terms o. Konkonsa? Gossip? They would gossip and say all kinds of things about you both positive and negative. They don’t see it as gossiping o but they see it as singing of love songs to each other. Please who can tell me the Ayigbe name for ‘thermometer’?

In my wife’s language, it is called ‘shhhhhhhh’. Is it true? Anyway whether true or false, you don’t have the power to doubt what you don’t know so to the best of my knowledge, it is neither here nor there! It’s just like being visually challenged and given jollof rice as fried rice to eat.

Do you have a choice that’s why I don’t joke with my eyes apart from using them to look at girls! Hahahaha! It is weekend again and next week, Jesus will be betrayed and crucified again but He will resurrect to continue to save me and you, our lives. Amen!

It’s been one month of Ghana Month and JOY did justice to the month when it came to knowing more about Ghana with a lot of flagship discussions. The one that intrigued me the most was the one concerning the Ghanaian dish / meal that can be identified and promoted internationally.

I was a bit surprised that a resource person settled on apapransa following some research bi that they had done. Apapransa to wear Ghana jersey? Do we even need a research into this exercise? According to her, the research indicated that it is eaten everywhere.

I have a variant opinion. Trust Winston and his Team; I was glad they subtly requested the possibility of doing another research again. I personally don’t remember the last time I ate apapransa. Yes, it comprises most of the ingredients that go into its preparation. But apapransa can easily get you full in no time and the desire to have it again may not occur immediately. You eat a little and you are already ‘fed up’.

Lexis took it up in the afternoon and my personal favourite virtually won! Kris Brown (konkonte) is the big deal. It is the only meal my mum told us when we were kids that it is good for the treatment of stomach ulcer though I know that was poverty talk (disclaimer: not scientifically proven). I was surprised fufu was not really coming close to konkonte even though I personally eat fufu at least four times in a week.

I just love fufu and when foreigners come to Ghana, they eat fufu with a lot of delight, sometimes with fork and knife and they go back with fond memories!

Then a caller phoned in and said the food that should wear Ghana jersey to the food world cup is ‘fetri toto’. ‘Fetri what’? Lexis queried after he got dazed a bit by the mention of ‘toto’. I knew what he was thinking but it is what it is. Hahahaha! ‘Fetri detsi’ or okro soup is very popular across Ghana.

However, what it goes with determines who the torch-bearer is. If it is akple and fetri detsi, we all know where to drive towards. But ‘fetri toto’? Ha! Don’t say this before my neighbor, Ataa Nikoi o! The difference is simple: whereas fetri detsi is typically characterized by the chopping / slicing of the okro into pieces with a knife before being cooked, ‘fetri toto’ is simply ‘grated okro’! It comes in different forms.

Sometimes ‘fetri toto’ can be fresh okro put on fire and ground and prepared into soup and it can be really nice. In some other parts of the country, ‘fetri toto’ has different means by which it is prepared. The dried okro is ground close to being in a powdery form and prepared into soup.

Having lived with my Kasena neighbours in Kisseman growing up, they called it ‘kuka’. It is so nice and can go with tuo zaafi and anything prepared from grains! In my opinion, I think if there is any food that should be marketed internationally, fufu has the upper hand because it has already been marketed to some extent and leveraging on that will make it a big deal. Ghana fufui is great. I don’t know of any part of the country where fufu is not eaten, generally!

So now you know. It is not the kind of ‘toto’ as we know in Greek as ‘in tou-tou’ which means ‘in details’. If you are thinking something else, Jesus is coming next week.

But you know the desire for a particular meal is subjective. I may enjoy what another person may condemn. Some too, we would be allergic to. Personally, I don’t take pineapples because it gives me reactions of severe migraine for many days. For a friend, it cures her migraine! That is food for you!

Ei! They say some people went to vote in a particular way and so they have violated something something. Some people have probably not heard of my friend who went to stand on the ticket of MPT in the Vorta Region and voted against himself! The reality only dawned on him after he was done casting his vote. My area? It is beyond the physical o.

You vote in a certain way before you know you have ‘made a mistake’ by which time it would be too late. Vorta and you want to be MPT NP? Ayooo! Hmmm! Good luck! Those who are calling for investigations into the distin are just wasting everybody’s time. Just line all the ‘suspects’ up and tell them ‘we are matching to Nogokpo to go and prove our innocence’.

Hehehehe! It is then nothing in the constitution, the Bible or the Quran would make any meaning. As for the Bible and Koran di333, we don’t fear them kraaa o! Anyway, as for me and my people eat their eworkple and fetri detsi but I will vote for fufu and any type of soup any day. Try Sokod3 fufu or fufu prepared in Bolga.

Food di333, don’t go there. I once used my pet goat for light soup and it was not be a bad idea at all but…. Heyheyhey! Eeeeei! I invited only a few guys to chop my bachelors night on the eve of my wedding. I was not expecting more than 15 friends. Before I could say jack more than 150 cars were parked around.

One goat, 150 cars with their ‘contents’? How! Each car had an average of at least 2 human beings. Almost 300 adults with good appetite and only one goat! Alex, my paddy advised me to get the caterers to add more pepper, at least half a sack of chilli pepper (akwele waabi) pounded pepper into the soup and make available a lot of pure water. In fact the good news was that the taps in my house were flowing that evening. T

his was to be a rendition of the miracle story Jesus feeding 5,000 people with two tilapia and aboolo. You won’t believe that everybody was served ‘satisfactorily’ that night and we still had the head of the goat remaining. If you don’t use your head your body will suffer! Kai! Each person was served a piece of goat meat and some soup around it as a special 4G soup.

Believe me, most people couldn’t finish this one piece of meat after tasting and drinking the soup. The next thing was to ask for water. Some drunk almost two buckets of tap water just to ‘cool’ the effects of the pepper.

The pepper was really hot and probably only good for some type of smokers! Only 2 notorious friends of mine managed to finish their meat and soup and were still fine even though one could see that their eyes turned red. I don’t know what they smoke but I suspected them paaa! The rest drank water saaaaaaaaaa till their bladders were ready to explode. hmmmm!

My small goat and you people had plans and brought your girlfriends along to come and eat and go. Don’t you think fufu and this type of soup wont be a bad idea to be identified as Ghana food? Anaa? As for gob3, I won’t recommend it for the international market unless of course the country in which it should be marketed is in dire need of biogas!

This my goat was so stubborn I often would go crazy anytime I see it trying to cough especially after having eaten beans the previous day. Not really about the coughing it coughs but the atuabo gas that it emits from behind anytime it does in an attempt to compete with me.

It is perhaps the only animal that passes gas conspicuously as humans do. It coughs and then you can hear. It sneezes, you can hear and walk shamelessly ahead of you, unconcerned.

So this week, when the American Vice-President visited Ghana, what did she eat? Shhhh! Don’t tell anybody yet. This is where a research is actually required. Trust me, that would be her endorsement of the Ghana food to the world and people will come on tour to Ghana to eat that kind of food.

American Ablavi, God bless you for your visit o and remember to greet my Uncle, President Biden for me! Ajeeeei!

Source: Ghana web

The first prosecution witness in the criminal trial of the former CEO and owner of defunct Beige Bank, Mike Nyinaku, has alleged that the accused person, in addition to the myriad of allegations levelled against him, also approved the physical transfer of US$200,000 from the bank’s vault to himself without due process.

Mr Julius Ayivor, a chartered accountant at audit and advisory firm, KPMG, who is the First Prosecution Witness in the case, told the High Court hearing the case that the said amount was moved from the cash management unit (CMU) of the now defunct bank to Mike Nyinaku’s office, noting that the accused person has till date not accounted for or returned the money to the bank.

This came to light when counsel for Mr Nyinaku, Thaddeus Sory, was cross-examining the witness in court last week.

Mr Sory directed the witness to take a look at a printed copy of an email in which Mr Nyinaku approved an amount of US$200,000 cash to be released to his own office, saying: “Take a look at Exhibit AA1. This is an e-mail dated 17 July 2017 written by a certain Stephen Duah Agyemang at 5:38pm to the accused person.”

In response, the witness answered: “that is so, my lady”.

Mr Sory then asked: “It is clear from Exhibit AA1 that the accused person approved [the US$200,000] as requested. Is that correct” and the witness answered “that is so. Exhibit AA1 shows the accused person’s approval and Exbibit AA shows the actual movement of the US$200,000 to the accused person’s office”.

Mr Sory asserted in his subsequent line of questions that the evidence tendered by the prosecution, which included a memo from the defunct bank’s cash management unit to Nyinaku’s office as well as other documents attached to that memo, only provided information on the name of the person who received the US$200,000 and not where (the location) the amount was received.

The witness, in response to Mr Sory’s assertions explained that from the evidence (ie Exhibit AA and Exhibit AA1), Stephen Duah Agyemang, who was an official of the defunct Beige Bank, sought approval from Mr Nyinaku for the US$200,000 to be released to his (Nyinaku’s) office.

The witness further explained that the same Exhibits also indicated where the US$200,000 was taken from (the bank’s vault) and where it was delivered (Nyinaku’s office).

The witness also explained that the first part of exhibit AA was a memo showing the evacuation of US$200,000 to Nyinaku’s office, while the second part of the same memo showed an acknowledgment by one Raphael Zilevu (an official of Nyinaku’s office) of receipt of the cash.

Mr Sory, who argued that Exhibits AA and AA1 were two separate and distinct documents, as such, could not be said to confirm that Mr Nyinaku’s office received the US$200,000, said “the actual acknowledgement [of the US$200,000] is separate and distinct from the memo which generated the evacuation [of the funds]”.

In response, the witness disagreed. Mr Ayivor explained that although the memo and the acknowledgment were two separate documents, the memo, which had the signature of Raphael Zilevu, an official from Nyinaku’s office as the ‘Receiving Officer,’ was the document used to request for the US$200,000 while the other document was the document signed by Raphael Zilevu to acknowledge receipt of the cash on behalf of the accused person.

Transfer tracing

The cross-examination of the witness also centered on a number of customers of the defunct bank listed on Exhibit AB1 (a list of over 10,000 customers) whose funds formed part of the over GH¢448 million that Mr Nyinaku is alleged to have siphoned to his company, Beige Capital Asset Management.

Mr Sory sought to challenge the veracity of the claim, using the case of one Emmanuel Kpobi, a former customer of the Bank, by asking the witness to trace the said transaction on the account of Beige Capital Asset Management which was tendered in evidence as Exhibit 9.

In response, Mr Ayivor said “that transaction is on the Beige Capital Asset Management Mobilisation account on page four (4) of 86 and the reference number is FT1705272820, dated 21 February 2017 for an amount of GH¢10,741.95”.

The witness also showed Mr Sory where, on the Beige Capital Asset Management Mobilisation account, he could find the remaining transactions.

Mr Sory had tendered a pendrive, containing the statements of account for Beige Capital Asset Management that shows all the funds allegedly siphoned from the account of the over 10,000 affected customers without their knowledge and consent, in evidence.

The case was adjourned to Monday 3 April 2023 for a continuation of the cross-examination of the witness.

Background

On 1 August 2018, the Bank of Ghana revoked the banking license of Beige Bank and placed it in receivership.

Later, Nyinaku was put on trial for on 43 counts of stealing, fraudulent breach of trust and money laundering, involving the siphoning of a total of GH¢1.2 billion from the defunct Beige Bank between 2015 and 2018, in a case presided over by Justice Afia Serwah Asare-Botwe, a Justice of the Court of Appeal sitting with additional responsibilities as a High Court Judge.

Source: Ghana Web

The Ghana Tourism Authority (GTA) Ladies Club has held its maiden ‘Rep your Region’ campaign to climax this year’s heritage month celebrations. The campaign on the theme: ‘Our Culture, Our Heritage’ aims at showcasing, marketing and selling Ghana’s rich culture by way of cuisine, regalia and dance. It is also to whip up the interest of the staff and the public to appreciate Ghana’s tourism, arts and cultural potential and engender cross cultural exchange. Prof. Tata Nkunu Akyea, Tourism and Heritage Educator, said there were many things that bound Ghanaians together even though every human being was an entity created uniquely from each other. He said nature did not create humans to live in isolation but to live and interact with other people and to be able to live harmoniously and ‘it was important to agree and identify ourselves with one culture, which is our Ghanaian culture, a common element that binds us together rather than divides us.’ He said culture was a creation of a community of a people and never an individual entity, ‘it is a social heritage of a group that is passed on, a learned behaviour and it is dynamic.’ ‘Even though culture is dynamic let us get away from the attitude of copying too much because that robs us of an important ingredient which is the heart of our culture,’ he added. Prof. Akyea commended the Club for the initiative and urged them as frontliners in the heritage industry, to learn more about Ghana’s culture and heritage, especially now that they had become the centre of the whole business. Mr Akwasi Agyeman, Chief Executive Officer, GTA, applauded the Club for the idea to climax the heritage month, which has become a successful one this year with the support of the media. He said looking at the numbers coming in, there had been an increase in domestic tourism, and this was very important because ‘if we do not visit the various sites, don’t eat our own food, don’t wear our own cloths, we cannot develop as a country.’ ‘So, when we talk about the See Ghana, Eat Ghana, Wear Ghana and Feel Ghana initiatives it shows that we have something good in this country and we must be proud of what we have and our heritage and do well to consume our own.’ Mr Agyeman commended all staff of the Authority for their dedication and commitment towards the promotion of Ghana’s tourism, saying ‘if you look at how tourism has become part of the national discussion now, it is because of the work we all put together, so do not relent in your efforts.’ Lady Francisca Kuukuwah Yanneyba Quansah, President GTA Ladies Club, said the campaign was for the staff, both men and women to display the cultures, customs and traditions in terms of food, clothes, music, and dance of all the 16 regions. She said GTA’s domestic tourism campaign and other initiatives sought to position Ghana as a preferred tourism destination in West Africa and Africa and we were gradually offering Ghana the opportunity to develop its local tourism to be able to attract the diasporan Community. ‘It is indeed time for us to make Ghana the place for domestic tourism and investment in progress and prosperity and not where our youth flee with the hope of accessing the proverbial greener pastures.’ Lady Quansah noted that ‘to face the stiff competition with other destinations in Africa and the world at large, it is imperative that we do things right to attract the needed tourists to Ghana in order to rake in the substantial foreign exchange and derive the full benefits.’ Madam Brandina Djagba, Wear Ghana Ambassador, commended the Club for such an initiative and urged Ghanaians ‘to learn and acknowledged that our culture is our heritage and we must embrace, value and market it to the other world because for them tourism is their source of revenue so we have we must cherish and market what we have in other to also generate some revenue from it.’

Source: Ghana News Agency