The Member of Parliament for the Offinso South Constituency and member of the Trade, Industry and Tourism Committee of Parliament, Hon. Isaac Yaw Opoku, has lauded the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) for its efforts in supporting the Government as part of its mandate to transform the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one.
He further called on all key stakeholders, the relevant state agencies and the entire Ghanaian public to support the Bank in its effort to build the capacity of Ghanaian Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) to scale up and enable them to increase their production for local consumption and exports, thereby reducing imports.
Hon. Isaac Yaw Opoku made the call when he represented the Chairman of the Trade Committee of Parliament, Hon, Carlos Ahenkorah, at the Bank’s “Tuesday Market on Thursday”, held on Thursday 1st December 2022 at the car park of the World Trade Centre in Ridge, Accra.
“It is a great feeling to be seeing all the amazing products by our Ghanaian entrepreneurs here at Tuesday Market which has a huge potential for exportation. I am convinced it is possible for us to build local industries to take care of our local consumption and export to other countries. As a country, we need to make a conscious effort to create local substitutes for some key items which will help our economy in the long run”, he added.
On her part, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, responsible for Banking, Ms. Rosemary Beryl Archer urged Ghanaian SMEs to work with the Bank to build their capacities in order to increase their productivity. She further spoke about the Bank’s campaign to leverage on sports to promote export through the “Think Sport, Think Trade” initiative.
“We have been espousing import substitution for some time now and we believe sports can be used as a tool to champion trade, promote export diversification with the aim of achieving economic transformation for jobs. To propel Ghana into an export economy, we should patronise Made-In-Ghana products to prosper. As a Development and Policy Bank, we will continue to provide financing to our Ghanaian entrepreneurs to make them competitive in the international market place through various capacity building programs and other initiatives”, she emphasized.
Ghana Exim Bank is focused on Raw Material Development and seeks to collaborate with other stakeholders to develop adequate raw materials for the factories it is financing.
(Source: Chris Koney)