Managing Partner of Konfidants, Michael Kottoh, has emphasized the need for Ghanaian manufacturing companies to tap into the opportunities presented by COVID-19, which has disrupted the global supply chain of essential items.
He says the growing demand for locally produced goods will require that businesses adjust their models to suit the changing times.
Countries that rely heavily on China and other developed economies for their supplies have had to bear the brunt of a slowdown in economic activities in Asian and European economies.
Speaking on the first day of the on-air series of this year’s Citi Business Festival, Mr. Kottoh said he hopes Ghana will capitalize on the opportunity and eventually expand its supplies to other countries within the West African sub-region.
“Everywhere in the world it’s incredible. Experts everywhere in the industry and in government have come to a new consensus that it is dangerous to be over reliant on distant supply chains such that when there is a national crisis, you can’t respond. Therefore as a matter of whether you call it national security or national self-reliance, there is an argument for localizing as much of your supply chains as possible, especially around certain categories of sensitive goods.”
“It can be regionalising and localizing, so you think about bringing it closer to you. Certainly, China cannot remain the factory of the world. It shouldn’t be so. There is a disruption in this dominant logic that has ruled the world for the past 30 years of globalization,” he said.
The novel Coronavirus has already caused major disruptions across many sectors of the global economy. It has claimed over three hundred fifty thousand lives globally, out of over six million cases.
While the pandemic has dealt a severe blow to global economy and trade, many businesses across the world are seeking new opportunities to survive the crisis with creativity, self-reliance and adjustments to local conditions.
Many experts have also called on African countries to improve Agriculture Production and Export by looking at the opportunity to boost domestic production and consumption of some food commodities, such as rice, maize, cassava, yam and chicken.
They have stressed that the country can also focus on export of commodities for which Ghana has comparative advantage in, to trade within the West African Sub-region and other countries that have not closed their borders to cargo.
Managing Partner of Konfidants, Michael Kottoh was speaking on the topic: “The Temporary Window, Speed and the Old Normal – Opportunities and Transformation in the age of Covid”.
