3rd US-Ghana Business Expo takes off — Over 20 private businesses participating
The 3rd US-Ghana Business Expo Roundtable and B2B matching has begun in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, USA, with about 20 private businesses from Ghana participating.
The programme was an initiative of the US-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, in collaboration with the US Commercial Service, Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI) and Millersville University, Lancaster, among others.
It is meant to, among other things, serve as a major platform for scores of Ghanaian businesses to discuss business opportunities with their US counterparts from various sectors.
Key sectors of focus during the event are Agriculture, Energy, Health care, Transportation, and Trade and Investment. The rest are Fintech, Real Estate and Technology.
Line up
The tall lineup of activities includes International Real Estate Development – Finance And Construction Management, Capacity Building and Scaling Up, Export readiness, Opportunities for Partnering and Investment, Driving Business Efficiencies – AI Strategies, African Diaspora Dialogues, Tourism Development Initiatives and Agribusiness.
New Era
The President of the US-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Florence Torson-Hart, said this year’s event was timely because of the determination of the two leaders in Ghana and the US to change the economic narrative for businesses to thrive and lead growth.
With reference to Ghana, for instance, she said the event would be used to explore how the 24-Hour policy of President John Dramani Mahama could be supported to benefit businesses and the economy as a whole.
“We believe that a component of the 24-Hour Economy will be export-driven as a way to utilise the excess production gained through increased productivity, particularly in the agricultural sector.
“It also means that many companies might look to expand capacity, which will require additional resources, including technology, capital resources and market expansion; hence, the need to explore joint venture prospects,” Mrs Torson-Hart added.
She said the chamber believed that one way to drive increased mergers and acquisitions (M&As) and joint ventures would be through the carefully planned Business to Business (B2B) matching component of the business summit on the schedule, which included tours to various project sites to enable participants to gain first-hand practical insights about how businesses worked in the States.
“This also ties in very neatly with the summit theme: “Ghana: Anchor of African Connectivity”,” she said, adding: “Other major areas will be how to use artificial intelligence (AI) to drive efficiency in energy production and green energy, international real estate investment/financing, investment in the ports, agriculture, agribusiness and manufacturing.”
Takeaways
She said the event would also provide a platform for discussion, orientation and education about business opportunities in Ghana.
Mrs Torson-Hart said the turnaround point, after all, would be opportunities for market expansion, the ability to scale business, new lead generation, and identify resources, including technological solutions and funding.
Expectations
One of the participants, the Chief Executive Officer of Right Consult and General Suppliers, Dr Godwin Kofi Akuamoah, said he expected to leverage the opportunity to build good and lasting business relationships by way of partnerships while exploring major investment opportunities to help grow his industry, which was safety and security, in Ghana and Africa as a whole.