Take advantage of AfCFTA - Exporters told

Ghanaian insurance companies have been advised to take advantage of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to encourage exporters to insure their products meant for export.

The move will promote and stabilise such businesses for the benefit of the owners and the country as a whole.

The Chief Trade Negotiator and Senior Technical Advisor of the Ministry of Trade and Industry, Mr. Anthony Nyame Baafi, gave the advice at a regional seminar on the benefits and opportunities of the AfCFTA in Koforidua in the Eastern Region last Friday.

The one-day seminar, dubbed: "Optimising AfCFTA for Ghanaians: Sensitising All the Regional Business Communities in Sync with the Opportunities", was attended by Municipal and District Chief Executives (MDCEs ), entrepreneurs, sole proprietors, industrialists, representatives from the banking sector, insurance companies and small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs), among others.

Insure businesses

Mr. Baafi said it was important for exporters to insure their businesses because experience had shown that exports that had not been insured  faced a lot of challenges.

He said it was, therefore, necessary to insure such exports to avoid any foreseeable problem regarding damage, theft, or some other unexpected situation.

In an answer to a question regarding small scale businesses exporting commodities, he encouraged small businesses to enhance their profiles before venturing onto the export market because of the competitiveness of the terrain and the associated challenges.

Mr. Baafi, however, advised owners of the SMEs to contact the Ghana Export Promotion Authority, the Ministry of Trade and Industries, and other relevant agencies for guidance before entering the export market.

Such SMEs, Mr. Baafi said, must be competitive to attract the export market.

Build capacities

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana International Trade and Financial Conference (GITFIC), Mr. Selasi Koffi Ackom, encouraged businesses to strategise and invest in building their export capacities.

He said the regional seminar was to bring the good news of the opportunities provided by the AfCFTA to the doorstep of the people of the Eastern Region, especially the business communities to work together.

"We can maximise these opportunities so as to increase trade within African countries," Mr. Ackom said.

He said the main objective of the AfCFTA was to build wealth within African countries by breaking down all trade barriers and encouraging trade among African countries.

Mr. Ackom urged the MDCEs in the region to spread the good news to businesses within their localities for them to take advantage of the new trade system among African countries.