One major sector of the economy that will be enhanced to help Ghana leverage benefits from implementing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) is agriculture, Lawrence Agyinsam-CEO of the Ghana Exim Bank (GEXIM), has said.
To achieve this, he noted that the bank – which has already invested into the sector – is looking at pumping in more funds to help accelerate growth.
“We believe in financing the agricultural sector to play its crucial role in national development, especially adding value through processing to export,” he said in speech ahead of the 2020 edition of the B&FT-organised Ghana Economic Forum (GEF) scheduled to take place on November 9 – 10, 2020.
As part of its mandate, the GEXIM is expected to transform Ghana into an export-led economy; a move the CEO says he is working to achieve through various measures – including increasing Non-Traditional Export to US$5billion from its current average of US$2.4billion, as well as the development of specific crops into major export products.
In addition, the GEXIM is expected to reduce the nation’s import bill by US$300million via import substitution, and also enhance effective collaboration with state agencies to support the Ghanaian exporter’s capacity and competitiveness.
According to Mr. Agyinsam, the AfCFTA will open up the African continent for countries to trade among themselves, and this provides a great opportunity for the country to achieve these targets.
Mr. Agyinsam is to be part of a panel at the Ghana Economic Forum that will discuss the topic ‘Positioning Ghanaian businesses to leverage the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) for accelerated growth’.
The panel will be made up of Freda Duplan, Board Chair of Zenith Bank; Dr. Afua Asabea Asare-CEO of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority; and Jonathan Lutterodt, Senior Manager at auditing firm KPMG.
The Ghana Economic Forum will come off on November 9-10 at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra. The Forum will be organised under the theme ‘Resetting the Economy Beyond COVID-19, Building Economic Resilience and Self-Sufficiency’. The Guest of Honour will be President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo.
Other Speakers include Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison; Senior Minister, Yaw Osafo Maafo; Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta; Trade and Industry Minister, Alan Kyerematen; and Minister of Energy, John Peter Amewu.
