- Top-10 Business Icons unveiled
The Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana (EFG) has organised the maiden Made-in-Ghana Summit to deepen the conversation around the need to promote patronage and consumption of Ghanaian products and services, with the broader aim of building home-grown competitive brands that can impel growth of the nation.
The one-day summit, on the theme ‘Building Strong Ghanaian Brands for Global Competitiveness’, convened stakeholders in the local production space to discuss and proffer workable strategies to improve the consumption and patronage of locally-made products and services to drive the nation’s growth.
In a speech read on his behalf, Trade and Industry Minister Alan Kyeremanten reiterated the need to build resilient and competitive local brands to underpin the country’s sustainable development.
He said government’s primary commitment to this agenda is the flagship One District-One Factory programme, which has been designed to decentralise industrial development in order to ensure an even spread of manufacturing industries across all districts of the country.
“A major part of the solution we seek to solve the current crisis of cedi depreciation and rising inflation has been known to us all along – which is the need to look within and build Ghanaian manufacturing businesses with products that can compete anywhere in the world,” he emphasised.
According to the minister, the Made in Ghana Summit was a good platform to discuss the opportunities and challenges of building strong Ghanaian brands for global competitiveness; and further pledged government’s support to provide an enabling environment to make this a reality.
The summit also unveilled top Ghanaian entrepreneurs drawn from the local manufacturing and services sectors who have shown strong commitment to the Made-in-Ghana agenda with reputable businesses in key industries – including manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, maritime logistics, automobile and aviation.
They were: Dr. Daniel Mckorley, Founder and Chief Executive Officer-McDan Group of Companies; Mr. Gopal C. Vasu, Managing Director-M&G Pharmaceuticals Limited; Mr. Ghazi Azar, Managing Director-Azar Group of Companies; Mr. Tanal Ghandour, Managing Director-Ghandour Cosmetics Limited; and Mr. Hayssam Fakhry, Managing Director-Interplast Limited.
The rest were Mr. Moses Baiden Jnr, Founder& Chairman-Margins ID Group; Mr. Pawan Aidasani, Chief Executive Officer-Jay Kay Industries and Investments Ltd.; Mr. Ashok Mohinani, Executive Director-Mohinani Group; Mr. Salem Kalmoni, Managing Director-Japan Motors Trading Co. Limited; and Mr. Mukesh V Thakwani, Chief Executive Officer-B5 Plus Limited.
Special Recognition Awards were presented to Kenyan High Commissioner, Mr. Eliphas Barine; Turkish Ambassador, Mrs. Ozlem Ergun Uluesen; Lebanese Ambassador, Maher Kheir; and the Maltese High Commissioner, Jean Claude Galea Mallia, for their immense contribution to development of the local business environment.
The summit was well-attended by government officials, heads of key trade agencies and private business associations and corporate executives, as well as the diplomatic corps. Dignitaries included Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Free Zones Authority, Ambassador Mike Ocquaye Jnr; Chief Executive Officer of the Food and Drugs Authority, Ms. Delese A.A. Darko; and Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare.
Other attendees were: Director-General of the National Identification Authority, Prof.Kenneth Attafuah; Ag. Director-General of the Ghana Standards Authority, Mr. Clifford E. Frimpong; and president of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Clement Osei Amoako. It was chaired by the celebrated academician and economist, Professor Emeritus Stephen Adei.
