Embrace innovation and globalisation — Entrepreneurs urged
Entrepreneurs have been charged to adopt innovative practices and foster a collaborative environment to enhance competitiveness and build more resilient and prosperous enterprises.
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They have also been challenged to synergise with global premium quality brands to tap into their knowledge and expertise to remain relevant and sustainable.
The call was made by a senior Policy Advisor at the Office of the Vice-President, Prof. Kwaku Appiah-Adu, at the eighth edition of the Global Business Brands Summit and Awards.
He entreated the local industry to view these global brands as game changers in their businesses and liaise with them for innovation while maintaining their unique brand identity.
“It is not an end but a means to achieve greater economic innovation and developments which will spur the growth of the local industry with the latest innovation and technology for the common good of our local industry,” he stated.
He called for more joint ventures and partnerships among global brands and their local counterparts to create a business channel that can sustain the rapid growth of businesses in the country.
Adopt new trends
The Founder of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana, Sam Ato Gaisie, who organised the event, called on entrepreneurs to adopt and leverage emerging trends such as digitisation and artificial intelligence to enhance their businesses.
He advocated for avant-garde trends among Ghanaian businesses and entrepreneurs to make it easier for them to collaborate with global brands for the efficient operation of their businesses.
“Businesses need to embrace climate-smart solutions to enable their brands to meet customer needs and be more connected to them,’ he stated.
AfCFTA best for collaboration
The Australian High Commissioner to Ghana, Berenice Owen-Jones who was a guest speaker at the event, stated that the emergence of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) has made it easier for Ghanaian businesses to collaborate with their African counterparts.
She added that this ease of doing business has made Australians settle for Ghana as the place for home-grown projects and initiatives.
“Australia and Ghana will collaborate through AfCFTA to remove 80 per cent of tariffs on goods between the two nations,” she stated.
She called for the full implementation of AfCFTA to ensure industry growth and the development of the country.
Time to own our assets
The chairman of McDan Group, Dr Daniel Mckorley, for his part, called on Africans to take charge of their own produce by owning the channels and connectivity of where these products end up in any part of the world.
He said AfCTA can only be effective if Africans control the seas and dare to create bold and courageous entrepreneurs.
“Entrepreneurs can’t complain; they must be bold, innovative and creative, which comes with responsible leadership and creating values for the benefit of all,” he noted.
He called on young Africans to create their own global premium quality brands through innovations, smart thinking and perseverance.
“We must strive to create values to benefit all through embracing diversity and promoting environmental stewardship and social equity, embrace ourselves for tough times ahead, create jobs and fix problems. However, this mantle carries with it profound responsibility, not just for leaders but stewards of the future,” he stated.
Awardees
Some companies and industries were awarded at the event. They include Zenith Bank as the Premium Multinational Banking Brand of the Year 2023, Goil PLC Super Synthetic 5W-30 oil as Premium Synthetic Engine Oil Brand of the Year 2023, OmniBSIC Bank Ghana Limited as Premium SME Banking Brand of the Year 2023 and M&G Pharmaceuticals as Premium Pharmaceutical Company of the Year 2023.
The others are Most Influential CEO of the Year 2023, Mr Moses Kwesi Baiden Jnr, Executive Chairman, Margins ID Group; Most Influential Industrialist of the Year 2023, Mr Mukesh V. Thakwani; and the Most Influential Business Leader of the Year 2023, Dr Daniel Mckorley.bu
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