The council members of the Canada-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (CANCHAM) have paid a courtesy call on the new Senior Trade Commissioner from Canada to Ghana, Andrew Maharaj, to welcome him and brief him about the current state of the chamber.
Speaking at the meeting, the President for CANCHAM, Alex Samuel Nortey, said the chamber needs to position itself to maintain close business ties with Canadian companies so that members can get optimum results for what they pay their memberships for.
According to Mr. Nortey, the chamber is aware of the challenges of doing international business, but they are basically trying to bring Canadian businesses right into Ghanaian businesses to make transactions seamless.
Speaking on the essence of the meeting with the Senior Trade Commissioner, Mr. Nortey said: “The benefit from this meeting is for him to hear from us of what we want for our members. So this forum gives us that opportunity to be able to tell them, face to face, what our members require and how we can improve the services for our members”.
Mr. Nortey noted that within the last two years, the chamber has increased in membership from 65 to 115, which indicates that there are a lot of Ghanaian companies that are ready to do business with Canadian companies purely by the growth that they are experiencing, thereby making it necessary for such a meeting.
Talking about the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), he said it is a major boost for local businesses; therefore, advising all new members to also look within the chamber in terms of doing business not only in Canada, but also in Ghana and the rest of Africa.
The Senior Trade Commissioner from Canada to Ghana, Andrew Maharaj, giving remarks during the meeting, mentioned that Canada has a lot of companies that are technology-driven and ready to do business with others.
“Well, I think that in terms of where Canada can help, like I said, we have great technology-based companies, and I think that they are looking for international partnerships, and you know Canada has a huge market,” he noted.
Mr. Maharaj further indicated that there is need for businesses in Ghana to build partnerships with Canadian companies, therefore, he will work with the chamber to try and link companies in both countries.
He said although things are getting tough now with the economy, there is always going to be a transition which will bring change, and that will create new opportunities as well.
