Category: Finance

XL Trust Aid, a non-governmental organization established to help the underprivileged in society as well as to invest in community development will be launch on Sunday, September 26, 2021, at Abompe in the Fanteakwa South District of the Eastern Region.

The event according to the organizers will be graced by the chiefs and people of Abompe, Dwenase Japomani, Hemang, Dome, Osino among others.

Some of the personalities expected to attend the ceremony include Member of Parliament for Fanteakwa, Fanteakwa South Constituency, Mr Eric Bannerman, CEO of Gold Star Airline, Mr Kwabena Attakora, a chartered accountant, district chief executive for Fanteakwa South Constituency and a host of others.

Mr Dela Ashiagbor, director of NGOs in Ghana has been named as the guest speaker for the occasion.

Activities slated for the occasion include a cleanup exercise at the Abompe community hospital, and Abompe market on Saturday, September 25, 2021, followed by a donation of exercise books and stationery to schools within the district.

In an exclusive interview, the director of the NGO, Madam Louisa Akua Bema Boakye said education should be the bedrock of every nation since it is one of the surest ways to unlock the secrets of success.

She further stated that her greatest joy is putting smiles on the faces of people so anything that will make an individual smile becomes her priority.

She, however, urged all well-meaning Ghanaians to support this laudable move so together, we all can help build mother Ghana.

The program is proudly supported by Zoomlion, Everpure Ghana Limited and NADMO.

Source: Ghana Web

The third edition of the Israeli Green Innovation Competition came to a successful end at the closing ceremony of the 9th edition of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show.

Mr. Maxwell Kojo Xonu emerged as the winner, ahead of four other competitors, with his EbaPreneur Solutions. The innovation involves producing briquettes from waste organic materials and solar-drier fabrications. Maxwell Kojo Xonu wins a fully paid trip to Israel, including meetings with potential investors and internationally acclaimed Israeli startups that will help him commercialize the innovation.

After 6 weeks of receiving many entries across the country, five finalists made it to the final pitch of the 2021 Israeli Green Innovation Competition. The other four finalists were Yusif Sadique from Sadique Cluster Farms & Agri Consult; Selma Phidelia Korley of Nature Code; Ernest Apetsi of Stillmore and Kwadwo Asare Apori of Design Innovation Center.

In her remarks, newly designated Israeli Ambassador to Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, H. E. Shlomit Sufa, stated that: “this is the third time we have committed to hosting the Israeli Green Innovation Competition and for us, it is a real pleasure to see each year, incredible young innovative and talented Ghanaian entrepreneurs, apply and participate in the competition.”

She also expressed gratitude to the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement and the management of Strategic Communications Africa Limited (Stratcomm Africa) for their professional collaboration and organization of the 9th edition of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show.

On her part, Madam Esther Cobber, C. E. O of Stratcomm Africa, expressed delight in both the quality of the entries and the level of interest in this year’s competition. She said: “with the Israeli Green Innovation Competition startups are being encouraged to do amazing things that will help transform Ghana. She encouraged more young entrepreneurs to apply next year for the award.

Judges for the competition were Israeli Ambassador-Designate, H. E. Shlomit Sufa, Madam Esther Cobber of Stratcomm Africa, Ms. Mona Asem, Advisory Board Member of the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement, Mr. Foster Awintiti Akugri, Founder & President, Hacklab Foundation, Mr. Felix Baidoo, Sustainability and Responsibility Manager, Guinness Ghana Breweries Plc., and Managing Director of Metro TV, Mr. Kayode Akintemi.

Instituted in 2019, the Israeli Green Innovation Competition (IGIC) seeks to honor individuals and organizations that come up with innovative solutions that promote environmental conservation and agriculture in Ghana. The initiative is undertaken in collaboration with the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement. The Competition activities are therefore hosted by the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement and managed by Stratcomm Africa, initiators of the Movement.

Past winners of the competition are Mr. Prince Pius Nutsugah from Coologi Ghana, who won the competition in 2019 and has made the trip to Israel Mr. Jefferey Appiagyei of SAYeTECH, the winner in last year’s competition in November 2020, will travel to the State of Israel as soon as COVID-19 related restrictions are eased further.

Source: Ghana Web

History has proven that crisis often births innovation. This can be observed in the African banking sector.

Over the past decade, the dampening profitability has led to unprecedented innovation being stirred up from first-time customer channels, automation, and the new back-office technologies.

The most recent crisis the world witnessed was the COVID-19 pandemic, which struck a blow to the banking industry across the globe; most specifically the African banks have seen a decline in the average return on equity (ROE) from 14% in 2019, to 7% in 2020 (McKinsley,2021).

These statistics are significantly better than the average return on equity (ROE) expected from developed markets, which is estimated to dip below 1.5% in 2021, before rebounding to initial levels pre-pandemic of 9%.McKinsey reports it may take the developed markets up to 5 years to recover from the crisis, which is longer than the 3 years estimated for African banks, this is due to them taking effective government interventions and taking measures that best tackles the virus.

So if economic recovery goes as planned, by 2022 the African banks should rebound to their pre-COVID-19 revenue levels, whilst the banks in developed markets will only rebound by 2024.

The African banks’ analyses in the McKinsey report belong to four of Africa’s biggest economies – Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, and South Africa.

The power minds behind the resilience showed by African banks to rebound faster to pre-crisis levels, had to be implemented by well knowledgeable, and high-profile open-minded thinkers who make decisions for Banking institutions.

Leading banks have a proper and well-defined pattern of operation Model constructed by a major in-house innovative mind-a leader; these are Bank CEOs and MDs. Those in these positions are those who deploy strategies significantly to be able to respond to changes in the market. There are no fluke approaches in such attained heights and results. They not only manage new operating models but also sustain a more functional innovation program that banks retain to their advantage as fintech systems progresses.

This year, Reputation Poll International LLC, a leading global reputation-management firm finds it necessary to recognize the Banking sector, which plays a major role in our society, connecting people, linking up businesses, and influencing the economy directly or indirectly.

As part of our annual ranking; the Executive Appraisal of Reputable individuals from all works of life, after extensive research on various playmakers (the CEOs) in the African Banking sector, we choose to recognize the following 50 Most reputable Bank CEOs in Africa.

Those who have built and played an imperative role in revolutionizing the banking sector based on the following criteria; Excellence, Integrity, Reliability, Expertise, Technology, and ease of credit. They have helped their Banks attain a great height of performance.

Included in this list is the Oldest CEO by the name of Othman Benjellouna, a Moroccan banker billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder of Bank of Africa and BMCE Bank. Also serving as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in 2021, his net worth is estimated by Forbes to be US$1.3 billion.

More details are available on www.reputationpoll.com

Kindly note that the ranking is in alphabetical order:

1. Abdulmajid M. Nsekela Male, CRDB Bank Plc. Tanzania

2. Abena Osei-Poku || Female , Absa Bank Ltd, Ghana.

3. Ade Ayeyemi || Male, Ecobank Group, Nigeria.

4. Alain Law Min|| Male, Mauritius Commercial Bank, Mauritius.

5. Alan Pullinger|| Male, FirstRand South Africa.

6. Alice Kilonzo-Zulu|| Female, Ecobank Rwanda.

7. Baronice Hans|| Female, Bank Windhoek, Namibia.

8. Charles Mudiwa|| Male, Stanbic Bank Ltd. Kenya.

9. Daniel Mminele|| Male, Barclays Africa, South Africa.

10. Diane Karusisi|| Female, Bank of Kigali, Rwanda.

11. Ebenezer Onyeagwu|| Male, Zenith Bank, Nigeria.

12. Emeka Okonkowo|| Male, Union Bank of Nigeria.

13. Emmanuel Assiak|| Male, Afreximbank, Egypt.

14. Ekundayo Gilpin|| Male, Rokel Commercial Bank, Sierra Leone.

15. Fani Titi ||Male, Investec Bank PLC, South Africa.

16. Faustin Rukundo Byishimo|| Male, Access Bank (Rwanda) Plc. Rwanda.

17. Gerrie Fourie|| male Capitec Bank PLC, South Africa.

18. Halima Buba|| Female, SunTrust Bank. Nigeria.

19. Hussein Majid Abaza|| Male, Commercial International Bank, Egypt.

20. Hylton Kallner|| Male, Discovery Bank, South Africa.

21. Ifie Sekibo|| Male, Heritage Bank Nigeria.

22. Ireti Samuel-Ogbu|| Female, Citibank Nigeria.

23. Jacques Celliers|| Male, First National Bank, South Africa.

24. James Mwangi|| Male, Equity Bank of Kenya.

25. Jennifer Riria|| Female, Kenya Women Microfinance Bank, Kenya.

26. Joshua Nyamweya Oigara|| Male, Kenya Commercial Bank Group, Kenya.

27. Joshua Oigara|| Male, KCB Bank Kenya.

28. Julian Kingsley Opuni|| male, Fidelity Bank Ghana.

29. Kweku Bedu-Addo|| Male, Standard Chartered, South Africa.

30. Leina Gabaraane|| Male, Stanbic Bank, Zambia.

31. Luís Roberto Gonçalves|| Male. CEO of Banco de Fomento Angola.

32. Lungisa Fuzile|| Male, Standard Bank, South Africa

33. Macfussy M Kawawa||Male, National Bank of Malawi.

34. Mansa Nettey|| Female, Standard Chartered Bank of Ghana.

35. Mareme Mbaye Ndiaye|| Female, Société Générale Cameroun.

36. Martha Murorua || Female, Nedbank Namibia

37. Mercia Geises|| Female, Standard Bank, Namibia.

38. Michael William Thomas Brown|| Male, Nedbank group, South Africa.

39. Miriam Olusanya|| Female, The Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc, Nigeria.

40. Mohamed El Kettani|| Male, Attijariwafa Bank. Morocco.1

41. Nasim Mohamed Devji|| Female, Diamond Trust Bank Group, Kenya.

42. Noellie Tiendrebeogo|| Female – CEO, UBA Burkina Faso.

43. Othman Benjelloun|| Male, BMCE Bank, Morocco (90 years old).

44. Rui Barros|| Male, Absa Bank Mozambique

45. Samuel Minta|| Male, Stanbic Bank, Botswana.

46. Steven Lefentse Bogatsu|| Male, First National Bank of Botswana.

47. Todd Wilcox|| Male, HSBC, Egypt.

48. Tsehay Shiferaw|| Male, Awash Bank Ethiopia.

49. William Mpinganjira|| Male, FDH Bank, Malawi.

50. Yemisi Edun|| Female, First City Monument Bank, Nigeria.

Source: Ghana Web

Accra,- Mobile telecommunication giant, MTN Ghana, has appointed Mr Shaibu Haruna as the new Chief Sales and Distribution Officer of the Company.

He has been charged with the responsibility of providing strategic direction for MTN’s Sales Strategy, Operating Model, Channels distribution as well as digital sales infrastructure.

Mr Haruna will also support MTN to accelerate growth and digitalisation in accordance with the Company’s Ambition 2025, a statement issued on Tuesday and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, said.

The statement described Mr Haruna as a visionary and result-oriented executive with proven commercial experience in a career spanning over two decades in multinational businesses across Africa and the Middle-East.

“He successfully executed channel/business turnaround strategies in the Telecoms, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), Automobile and Financial Services businesses in diverse markets. He was a co-founder and a board member of a number of businesses in e-commerce, telecoms, education, agro-business and hospitality,” it added.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr Selorm Adadevoh, the Chief Executive Officer of MTN Ghana, said; “I am excited to welcome Shaibu back to the Y’ello family and I am confident his expertise gained over the years will enhance the MTN Brands we work towards building the largest and most valuable platform business with a clear focus on Africa,” the statement said.

It said Mr Haruna had worked with reputable organisations throughout his career, which started in Sales at Unilever as Acting Sales Executive and later joined Ghana Breweries Limited as Regional Account Manager.

The statement said in 2005, he joined Toyota Ghana Limited as Deputy Head of Sales, where he led the execution of a strategy to grow consumer and SME sales, which led to partnerships with financial institutions.

It said that led to the development of auto loan and leasing products for its target market.

The statement added that in 2006, Mr Haruna joined MTN, as Senior Manager for Sales, where he managed indirect sales channels across all markets in Ghana.

He then became a General Manager in 2008 where he led a number of senior commercial roles in Sales, Mobile Financial Services, Customer Experience and MTN Business in a number of MTN Operations, including; MTN Group, Ghana, Uganda and South Africa.

In November 2015, he left the shores of Africa to join Etihad Etisalat Mobily in Saudi Arabia as Executive General Manager.

The statement said Mr Haruna later joined the largest distributor for MTN Ghana, Izone as its Chief Executive Officer in April 2017, where he delivered a successful turnaround from a period of flat growth to double digit growth.

It said Mr Haruna is a Fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, United Kingdom and holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Leicester, United Kingdom.

He also holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Ghana Business School and a recipient of Holger Enberg prize for the Best Graduating Student in Business Policy (Strategic Management) at University of Ghana Business School.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo says Ghana attracted the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in West Africa despite the Coronavirus pandemic, raking in some USD 2.

65 billion during the peak of the disease in 2020.

This is because the Government since 2017 had put in place measures to reduce the cost of doing business, improve the business environment and made the Ghanaian economy, not only one of the most business-friendly economies in Africa, but also one of the fastest-growing economies in the world between 2017 and 2020.

Speaking at the opening of the maiden Ghana Investment Promotion Council’s (GIPC) Annual Investment Summit, dubbed Sparkup 2021 in Accra on Tuesday, the President said Ghana’s economy was one of the few that recorded positive growth in 2020, even though many economies went into recession mostly on account of COVID-19.

He said despite the ravages of the pandemic, the Government was working to grow the economy at a much faster rate this year, targeting a five percent GDP growth rate to enhance the prospects of “a win-win environment for both private sector and country, and create an environment where companies do not just survive, but actually thrive.”

The country managed a GDP growth of 0.1 percent in 2020, though significantly reduced from the average levels of seven percent per annum recorded in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The Spark Up Summit, being held on the theme,” Maximising Ghana’s Investment Potential” is a collaboration between the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Ministry of Information and other government agencies to revive interest for investing in Ghana, and to help restore economic growth as the country emerges from the economic downturn occasioned by the pandemic.

The event brought together captains of industry, policy-makers, business owners, heads of state agencies and ministers of state to deliberate and brainstorm on opportunities and challenges in investing in the country and proffer solutions to them.

President Akufo-Addo told the gathering that upon assumption of office in 2017, his government took steps to build a business-friendly economy to enable Ghana to get to the stage “where the exploitation of the opportunities that are available to us will help us build an optimistic, self-confident, self-reliant, prosperous nation – a Ghana beyond Aid.”

Towards realizing this vision, the government, he said, had made deliberate efforts in determining the investment priorities of Ghana and taken steps to mobilize the necessary resources for the growth of those priority areas.

“This is because we want to help transform Ghana from being a mere producer and exporter of raw materials to a value-added, industrialized economy that will provide opportunities, jobs and prosperity for all Ghanaians, thereby creating a wiser nation that is a wealthy inclusive, sustainable, empowered and resilient one.”

The President said the Government had identified the relevant sectors of the economy requiring the needed investments that will help accelerate the rebound and growth of the Ghanaian economy, as was witnessed in the immediate years before the pandemic struck.

He said the GHȻ100 billion post-COVID initiative to stabilize, revitalize and transform Ghana’s economy, Ghana Cares Obaatanpaa Programme, will inject substantial investments into key sectors of the economy such as agriculture, agro-processing, manufacturing, healthcare, housing and infrastructural development.

The programme will require some 30 billion cedis of funding from the government and 70 billion cedis from the private sector.

But in seeking to mobilize the 70 billion Cedis from the private sector, President Akufo-Addo noted, required a critical examination of how FDI’s are on-boarded into the economy of Ghana.

“So, it is critical that this maiden edition of Spark Up, be dedicated to exploring ways of improving the turnaround times and the efficiency with which potential investments are integrated into the Ghanaian economy,” he said.

He charged the GIPC to use the Summit as a platform for open frank and solution-oriented engagements between investors, regulators and investment facilitators, hopeful that the event would remove all bottlenecks to the smooth and quick establishment of all registered investments to complement the efforts of government in engineering growth and the creation of jobs for our people.

Mr Yofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) told the gathering that Ghana was endowed with human and natural resources to spearhead Africa’s economic emancipation.

He said with the country hosting the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Secretariat, individuals and businesses needed to take advantage of the favorable investment climate to strike partnerships.

The GIPC CEO said it was time Ghana moved away from exportation of raw materials to increase productivity and value addition.

He noted that the country was geographically well-positioned to spearhead Africa’s economic emancipation and wealth creation due to its stable political and democratic environment.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Accra,- Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah has urged state agencies to set up special Units to address concerns of investors as part of efforts to boost the influx of investments.

At his closing remarks at the maiden Spark Up Summit in Accra on Tuesday, Mr Nkrumah said the setting up of a Unit by those state agencies would aid in responding promptly to the queries from investors and ensure efficiency in their operations.

The Minister expressed the need for those state agencies including; Electricity Company of Ghana and the Lands Commission to fast-track digitization of their operations to ensure more efficiency.

He also entreated them to open more engagement platforms to sensitise and educate prospective investors and the public about their operational policies.

The Spark Up Summit was organised by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, the Information Ministry and other government agencies to brainstorm on opportunities and challenges in investing in the country and proffer solutions to them.

It was held on the theme: “Maximising Ghana’s Investment Potential” which brought together captains of industry, policy-makers, and heads of state agencies, business owners and ministers of state.

The summit was officially opened by President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in Accra.

Mr Yoofi Grant, Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) said Ghana was well endowed with human and natural resources to spearhead Africa’s economic emancipation.

He said with the country hosting the African Continental Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Secretariat, it was imperative that individuals and businesses took advantage to strike partnerships.

He said the investment initiative was to promote investment in the country to stimulate economic growth in view of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mr Grant said it was time Ghana moved away from exportation of raw materials to increase productivity and value addition as the country was geographically well positioned to spearhead Africa’s economic emancipation and wealth creation due to its stable political and democratic environment.

Mr Grant said despite the COVID-19 pandemic that distracted many global economies, President Akufo-Addo had provided leadership that brought in $2.65 billion worth of FDI into the country last year.

He said since 2017 the country’s economy had witnessed great resilience, posting seven per cent average economic growth with favourable climate for doing business due to visionary bilateral and multilateral initiatives undertaken by the government.

He stated that the $2.65 billion worth of investment went into various sectors of the economy including; agriculture, manufacturing, oil and gas and services and estimated to create 27,000 direct jobs for the youth.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Ho, A leading manufacturer of plastic pipe systems in the country, Interplast, has pledge to support the fifth Volta Trade and Investment Fair coming up in Ho in November 2021.

The company will provide a financial support package of GH¢20,000 and signed an agreement with the event organizers to use the fair to train farmers in the Region on irrigation techniques.

Dr. Archibald Yao Letsa, Volta Regional Minister, led the planning committee of the Fair at a meeting held at the Company’s office in Accra.

The Minister said the Region was on course to holding one of the biggest fairs in the country, and to spread a vast business platform to be held up by the industrial community.

He was also elated about Interplast’s interest in the event, and said, “together, we can ensure a successful fair”.

Mr Bernard Avle, General Manager of Citi Fm, who is a brand ambassador for the fair, applauded Interplast’s lead, and urged other companies to emulate their example.

Mr. William Dzamefe, Acting Regional Director of Agriculture, said the farming landscape in the Region was being transformed on the fulcrum of irrigation innovation, and indicated his outfit’s readiness to work with Interplast to boost the Region’s agricultural potentials.

The Fifth Volta Trade and Investment Fair is on the theme: Promoting Sustainable Trade and Investment” and will run from November 15 to the 28.

It is focused on agribusiness, tourism and ICT, and is expected to attract some 500 exhibitors and draw over 8,000 visitors to the Ho Sports Stadium where it will be held.

Interplast plans to exhibit products and floated plans to also establish a demonstration farm in the Region.

The Association of Ghana Industries is partnering the Volta Regional Coordinating Council in hosting the two-week event, which has already attracted the interest of commercial organizations including the Ghana Commercial Bank and MTN.

Interplast’s team, represented by Madam Elizabeth Owusu Gyebi, Marketing Manager, Engineer (Ing.) Haidar Malhas, the Irrigation Manager, Ing. Fares Al-Ayadi, Backoffice Manager, was delighted to present to the planning committee the portfolio of products of Interplast.

They also presented different innovative solutions of irrigation provided by Interplast.

The planning committee of the fair had a tour of the manufacturing plant of Interplast, the biggest pipe manufacturer in West Africa.

The visit was concluded with a successful partnership to promote, boost and support the fair, to assist the farmers of the Region move from traditional farming to agribusiness.

Present at the meeting were Reverend Isaac Adza-Tettey, Regional Economic Planning Officer, Mr Dela Gadzanku, Regional Chairman of the Association of Ghana Industries, and Atsu Sedzro, Project Coordinator for the Volta Fair.

 

Source: Ghana News Agency