Citi FM has concluded the 2020 edition of the Citi Business Festival which offered a wide range of strategies for businesses to stay afloat amidst the Covid-19 pandemic and bounce back stronger after the pandemic.
The general view is that, the pandemic will cause a massive shift in the way things are done even after the pandemic, hence the need for businesses to prepare and adjust.
The annual event, which occurs in the month of June, provides inspiration, business ideas and information for persons who are starting, building or growing their businesses.
The month long event had series of on-air presentations and virtual fora.
Due to the COVID-19 and its attendant restrictions, all four business fora were carried out with a combination of in studio guests while others joined via zoom on Citi TV.
Also, the fora presented an opportunity for various people to join and participate from different places.
The on-air series spanned a period of five weeks; from Monday, June 1, 2020, to Friday, July 3, 2020.
Guests spoke on various topics such as complying with tax systems amidst the pandemic, positioning one’s company to bounce back more robust after COVID-19, financing opportunities for agribusiness, opportunities for African countries for the African Continental Free Trade, and innovations to solve complex human problems.
The first of the four virtual business fora focused on reboot, which looked at helping businesses bounce back after COVID -19. A couple of ideas were shared including the need for partnerships to remain robust post COVID-19.
The e-commerce forum came off on June 9, 2020, and the purpose of this forum was influenced by the limited face to face interaction due to the coronavirus which has made people resort to online deliveries. Among some of the tips offered was the need for businesses to be cautious of e-commerce fraud.
The next virtual business forum was on Agribusiness. Panelists agreed on the need for Ghana to reduce the importation of livestock and food items such as tomatoes which continue to drain the country’s resources.
The final virtual business forum looked at the import and export trade and how it will be impacted post COVID -19. It emerged that partnerships among African countries will be a springboard to reduce the continent’s over-reliance on imports from other economies. This was premised on the fact that the African Continental Free Trade Agreement presents an opportunity to improve trade within the continent.
Commenting on the planning and how successful this year’s Citi Business Festival has been despite the COVID-19 restrictions, the General Manager for Citi FM and Citi TV, Bernard Avle, told Citi Business News how the pandemic influenced the topics for the virtual business fora.
“We had at least three months of lock down in terms of how activities have been hampered. So to do a business forum, you need to think of what businesses are going through which is why we did the Reboot forum. E-commerce as well has been a response to the COVID-19 situation because most people were affected in terms of physical movement and therefore using the platform to explore how do you build the online and retail channel and benefit from the ecosystem,” he said.
This year’s edition of the Citi Business Festival was sponsored by ABSA Bank.
For ABSA, it decided to partner with Citi FM because, “the Citi Business Festival resonates with our brand promise of helping people to find a way to get things done, and as a business, our main purpose is to connect the dreams of individuals and businesses to our financial resources, opportunities and services and bring those possibilities to life,” Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations at Absa, Nana Essilfuah Boison remarked.
It was supported by the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC).
The CEO of the GIPC, Yofi Grant, whose outfit is mandated to attract Foreign Direct Investments into Ghana, is convinced that partnering with Citi FM should help in propagating the Centre’s objectives such as new opportunities for new investors; both local and foreign.
The Centre is embarking on a drive to encourage investments to help local production, reduce imports and create employment for the teeming youth.