By Buertey Francis BORYOR
The Minerals Income Investment Fund (MIIF) has reaffirmed its commitment to a long-standing and healthy relationship with the Business and Financial Times (B&FT), lauding Africa’s leading business information source for consistently delivering up-to-date, accurate reporting.
The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company, Edward Nana Yaw Koranteng, made this pledge during a courtesy call by the management of the B&FT on leadership of the state-owned investment fund in Accra, November 18, 2024.
He described the B&FT as the quintessential business newspaper, and the country’s version of the internationally acclaimed Financial Times news agency.
“We have been delighted by the professionalism of your reportage. We actually use the B&FT for work. In fact, there are articles in the B&FT that I personally clip and put together as reference point. There is very little I can add to how professional you have been, and how you go about things,” he added.
Also, the CEO averred that MIIF would not have grown to its current level were it not for the newspaper’s support.
“During those days, I had never thought MIIF will become a household name because nobody knew about us at the time. We were in some obscure office in Cantonment and by 3pm, the whole place is dead. But we realised there was a need for us to come out, and the conduit through which we came out has been the B&FT.
“We could have been in our corner somewhere and be using the microphone, but nobody would have heard us. With the support of your newspaper, we have witnessed incredible transformation within the past three years and our brand has also come up,” he said.
Mr. Koranteng further urged the company to strive toward ensuring that its online channels are always ahead of those of its competitors.
“If there is some room for improvement, then I would say that you should be looking at the online version. You ought to be in a position where you chart the course, and businesses will follow you because of your position.
“You should also be able to let your online run as the main point of reference like you see people do with the Financial Times, The Economist, and other reputable online media,” he said.
Agyapa deal
He did, however, voice concern over the public’s misinterpretation of the Agyapa deal, claiming it was occasioned by misinformation and a lack of appreciation for the deal.
In this regard, he urged the B&FT to simplify the complexities of such instruments by way of reportage.
“The sophistication of these instruments and the kind of things that we do at MIIF should be simplified through the likes of B&FT; otherwise we will always be having communication issues, and Ghana will just be losing out.”
“Atlantic Lithium, for instance, was one of the best contracts we negotiated; but we all saw and heard what people were saying about it because they were so uneducated,” he lamented.
The MIIF CEO, thus, pushed for financing to train and equip journalists with the skills needed to simplify difficult reporting.
“Some companies would be interested in sponsoring your journalists to go and get training in some of the world’s best institutions. Perhaps, these are things we should be pushing for so that the understanding of some of these sophisticated things can be simplified to the Ghanaian public,” he said.
Meanwhile, CEO of the B&FT, Dr. Godwin Acquaye, who led the delegation, was grateful to MIIF for the consistent support and collaboration.
“In any pursuit, not excluding business, relationships are crucial. It is part of our culture to visit our cherished clients and partners getting to the end of the year to get feedback on the services we render to them in terms of reportage.
“We have already churned out copious reportage about MIIF. However, if there is anything that we need to do in terms of supporting your company, we are ever-ready to assist you in that regard,” Dr. Acquaye said.
Additionally, he hinted of a soon-to-be-established B&FT YouTube channel.
“We have this television thing coming up. Not the mainstream TV but YouTube. With this, I may go out interviewing CEOs, technocrats and the likes for perspectives on important issues concerning their respective industries,” he elaborated.
In parting, the two firms accentuated the need to collectively explore areas of mutual interests and benefits going forward.
