The Ghana Rising Conference organized by Citi FM/TV is underway at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra.
The goal of the one-day conference is to fashion out deliberate policies that will allow Ghanaian indigenous businesses to be able to boost their capacities and go beyond the borders of the country.
One of the key highlights of the conference will be a presentation by Michael Kottoh of Konfidants. The presentation looks into how Ghana-made products that are struggling for shelf space in supermarkets and solutions needed to compete with imported products.
Renowned industrialist and businessman, Tony Oteng-Gyasi will deliver the keynote address on the theme: Taking Commanding Heights of the Ghanaian Economy; Opportunities for Indigenous Businesses.
The event will feature panel discussions on four thematic areas namely: Finance, Oil & Gas, Agriculture & Agribusiness and Green Economy.
The Finance discussion will be moderated by Head of News at Citi TV/FM, Vivian Kai Lokko with Lawrence Agyinsam, CEO of Ghana EXIM Bank, Bennet Kpentey, Managing Partner — Sync Consult; and Brian Frimpong, Zebu Investment Partners.
This session will be on the theme: Financing indigenous businesses — surmounting the barriers.
The discussion on oil and gas will look at the Local Content Law and what opportunities there are. To discuss that will be CEO of Petroleum Commission, Egbert Faibille; Hassan Tampuli, CEO of National Petroleum Authority (NPA). Senyo Hosi will join in on that discussion.
The agriculture or agribusiness session will have discussants such as James Boateng, 2018 National Best Farmer; Kwesi Korboe, agribusiness expert; and Deputy CEO of Ghana Export Promotion Authority, Sam Dentu.
The panel discussion on Sanitation and Green Economy will include Dr. Glenn Gyimah of Jospong, Harold Esseku and Abdul Nasser Alidu of the Ghana Climate Innovation Centre.
The icing on the cake of the day’s conference is a Ministerial session which will have ministers from Finance, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Energy discussing salient points from the conference that will affect government’s policy.
In all, the summit brings together stakeholders, policymakers, and entrepreneurs to examine opportunities for local businesses to grow, creation and implementation of policies that place local businesses at the center of national development, and ways to leverage the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) for our local businesses to scale into global conglomerates.
The event is sponsored by Chamber of Bulk Oil Distributors, SunPower Innovations, Ghana EximBank, Ghana Climate Innovation Centre, Glofert, ADB, Rigworld Solutions and Jospong Group of companies.