Business24 Newspaper 12th July, 2021

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Ghana among main beneficiaries in Africa of FDI in textiles—report

‘Banks must report cybersecurity breaches’

See page 9

See page 9

BUSINESS24.COM.GH

NO. B24 / 220 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY MONDAYJULY MAY12, 3, 2021 2021

BoG cautious about reversing pandemic policy support

By Abdul Rahman

By Benson Afful

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affulbenson@gmail.com

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he Bank of Ghana has stated that it is not in a rush to withdraw the raft of measures it introduced last year at the onset of the pandemic, as economic recovery remains fragile.

Speaking at a financial literacy programme for journalists over the weekend, Dr. Maxwell Opoku-Afari, the first deputy governor of the bank, said the central bank was cautious about rolling back the

bout 42,813 borrowers, some of whom left school many years ago, are in default on their student loans, the Student Loan Trust Fund (SLTF) has announced.

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Gov’t still keen to tap diaspora capital—Adu Boahen

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Digitised, tailored and well-priced products will drive up insurance—Allianz Insurance CEO

By Patrick Paintsil p_paintsil@hotmail.com

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nsurers need to develop tailored and well-toned products that offer the right mix of value and experience to the insurable public as a means of exploiting the hugely untapped potential of the domestic insurance market, says Darlington Munhuwani, the Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Insurance.

Darlington Munhuwani, Chief Executive Officer of Allianz Insurance

42,813 persons in default on their student loans

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By Eugene Davis ugendavis@gmail.com

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overnment has not ruled out the possibility of selling diaspora bonds to Ghanaians abroad and is exploring the best strategies to move forward, Charles Adu Boahen, the Minister of State at the Finance Ministry, has said.

Cont’d on page 5

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Editorial / News

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Editorial

Fruits of flood control investment must be visible

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hanaians have persistently suffered perennial flooding which has led to the loss of lives as well as devastation to properties.

Over the years, many areas continue to suffer from these deadly floods and their attendant effects.

According to the government, since 2017 it has invested GH¢450m in the National Flood Control and Priority Drainage Programme.

Minister for Works and Housing Francis AsensoBoakye has told Parliament the investment in flood control since 2017 compares with GH₵88m invested between 2011 and 2016.

“Clearly, this level of commitment to tackling the

problem, which has resulted in a reduction of flooding incidents in the past few years, is unprecedented and commendable,” he added.

Ghana ranks highly among African countries most exposed to risks from multiple weatherrelated hazards. In the past three decades, the country has experienced seven major floods, leading to significant loss of lives and property.

The Minister explained that the causes of flooding in the country are multi-faceted and include inefficient drains, undersized culverts, and uncontrolled development in flood plains, wetlands and waterways.

Additionally, indiscriminate

dumping of solid waste into drains contributes significantly to urban flooding, while across the country, new developments and buildings in waterways and flood plains (buffer zones) block the flow of stormwater and worsen the risk of flooding.

There is no denying that given all that this government has done to solve the perennial the issue still remains.

This paper would want the government to double up its efforts to arrest the situation as the wet season is upon us once more.

Absolutely no one deserves to lose their lives in these perennial floods as we have seen over the years.

BoG cautious about reversing pandemic policy support Continued from cover

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policies which contributed to the banking sector’s resilience against the pandemic.

"A key issue going forward relates to the timing of withdrawal of policy support. This would need to be carefully done so as not to jeopardise the recovery process, and the bank will continue to monitor developments and take appropriate decisions," he said.

At the onset of the pandemicinduced restrictions, the central bank cut its policy rate by 150 basis points and announced a relaxation in some prudential requirements to create room for banks to lend to critical sectors.

The measures, combined with the government’s own specific policy interventions— such as subsidised water and electricity costs—helped prevent the economy from slumping into recession.

The economy last year grew at a rate below one percent— the lowest in 37 years. With the Ghana Statistical Service’s GDP data for the first quarter of 2021 showing an expansion year-onyear of 3.1 percent, Dr. OpokuAfari said the bank is acting in a cautious manner as Covid-19 still

remains a threat.

"A careful balancing act between unwinding the policy support would be needed by policy makers to ensure that stability in a post-pandemic environment is guaranteed," the first deputy governor said.

Banking consultant Dr. Richmond Atuahene said the possibility of a third wave of Covid-19 deepens the uncertainty

and threatens the recovery.

With the threat of a third wave, vaccine procurement constraints and the highly transmissible delta variant seen in Ghana, the economist believes any attempt to unwind the policy support "will erode the gains made in the recovery process."

He recommended to the government to maintain the relief measures through to 2022.

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Digitised, tailored and well-priced products will drive up insurance—Allianz Insurance CEO Continued from cover In an exclusive interview with Business24, he also indicated that digitisation of the insurance business will fast-track insurance penetration, which is currently under two percent of GDP, but advised that those digital offerings must be priced competitively.

“Obviously, with digitisation, the cost of insurance in the long run should come down, as we distribute more products across digital lines to people who were ordinarily not able to access these products. So, apart from training and education, we need to make sure that we distribute products through channels that are farreaching and priced reasonably and competitively.”

Mr. Munhuwani added that the evolution from a cash economy to a more developed financial system can help drive the growth of micro-insurance, be it in partnership with financial institutions or micro lenders.

“One of the key drivers of penetration is knowledge that will be shared to clients so that they see the need for insurance in their lives and businesses. This is one of the elements that the industry has to be working on to ensure that we educate and train our staff to sell the right value to the client,” he said.

Touching on the supervision of the sector, Mr. Munhuwani commended the National Insurance Commission (NIC)

for the various reforms and innovations that have been rolled out to strengthen the insurance industry.

He remarked, for instance, that the introduction of additional compulsory insurance such as marine imports and workers’ compensation is good for revenue generation and will also ensure that clients are adequately protected.

“They [the regulator] have done a wonderful job, and I

can only encourage them to keep doing that. Their ability to recognise the difficulty of players in meeting the minimum capital requirement and extending the timeframe for compliance is one area where they discharged themselves very well,” he said.

The domestic underwriting landscape remained relatively resilient to the virus pandemic, according to official data from the regulator.

To the Allianz boss, the

pandemic serves as a starting point for insurers and other allied service providers to rebuild capacity, enhance their products and offer better experience to clients.

“The silver lining of this pandemic for me is that we’re all restarting from ground zero. It’s about what we have learnt out of it and how we can transform ourselves quickly to fit the new normal,” he said.

42,813 persons in default on their student loans Continued from cover Students who get loans from the fund have a grace period of

one year after national service to start paying the loan.

As part of its loan recovery strategy, the fund has published

the names of the defaulters on its website and has asked the defaulting borrowers to repay their loans to give the opportunity

to other students to access the fund.

In addition, the fund has threatened to publish the debtors’ names in the national dailies if they fail to comply.

The fund relies heavily on recovered loans to disburse to new borrowers due to delays in the release of funds from its other sources, mainly the Ghana Education Trust Fund.

Meanwhile, President AkufoAddo, in his party’s 2020 election manifesto, said the government will scrap the guarantor requirement for students who want to access the loan.

The move, according to the President, will ensure that all students who complete senior high school have access to finance to move on to tertiary education.

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Gov’t still keen to tap diaspora capital—Adu Boahen Continued from cover According to Adu Boahen, diaspora bonds require comprehensive work to issue, with an analysis by the Ministry of Finance concluding that issuing one is likely to be challenging— the reason why the government is carefully considering how best to implement the idea.

“The challenge about diaspora

bonds is that to sell them, you have to have permission to distribute retail. So, if you are in America and you want to sell diaspora bonds to an investor base, you have to actually distribute or market it to every individual. [Because] every state in America has different rules when it comes to selling securities to individuals, you have to have a whole distribution team of brokers all over the country.

Each one of them has to abide by the rules to be able to sell the products to individuals and then try and generate the funds. When we looked at the total market and what it would take to do that kind of set-up, it was very challenging,” he told Business24 in an interview during the Ghana Diaspora Investment Summit in Accra.

He added: “It would be easier if

Charles Adu Boahen

we could sell a Ghanaian product like a domestic bond and have people remit their funds here and buy the bond. So we are looking at different structures that would work and appeal to everybody, but also [so that] we would not run into regulatory impediments.”

Ghana, he also said, is interested in the green bond market and will join other African countries, including Egypt, South Africa, Nigeria, Namibia and Kenya, in issuing one.

Government is already targeting to raise as much as US$1bn through a sale of sustainable bonds.

Reports suggest the proceeds would help refinance domestic debt used for social and environmental projects, including loans taken to pay for the free senior high school policy.

Social bonds seem to have gained currency since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, yet so far only a few sovereign issuers have sold them, including Chile and Ecuador.

Ghana among main beneficiaries in Africa of FDI in textiles—report

By Benson Afful affulbenson@gmail.com

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hana is one of the main beneficiaries of foreign direct investment into the textile and garments industry in Africa in recent times, the Oxford Business Group (OBG) has said in a new report.

“Between 2016 and 2017, announced greenfield foreign direct investment projects in Africa within the textile, clothing and leather industry amounted to US$5.1bn. While most of this investment was directed towards Ethiopia, recent investments have also flowed into West African countries, especially Ghana,” said the report, titled West Africa Textiles and Garments Focus Report.

According to the report, developments favouring the textile industry in Ghana include its being listed as an area for strategic investment under the government’s 10-Point Industrial Transformation Agenda introduced in 2017.

In addition, various partnerships between the private sector and international

stakeholders, including the German development agency, GIZ, are under way to strengthen the sector.

Also, in 2019, the government zero-rated value-added tax on locally manufactured textiles for three years. The move was expected to ease cost pressures on the industry, allowing it to lower prices and increase

competitiveness.

OBG said regional production of wax print, which is currently limited to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, presents a significant opportunity for job creation and export earnings, particularly if the fabrics are sold to the United States under the preferential African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) by eligible countries.

The AGOA is a piece of US legislation that allows subSaharan African countries to export duty-free to the US as long as they meet a list of requirements, including establishing marketbased economies and policies to reduce poverty and protect human rights.

OBG said the two most critical issues facing the development of a long-term textile industry in West African countries, including Ghana, are affordable electricity and qualified human resources.

It added that the development of cotton is crucial to Africa’s textile industry, noting that cotton is also one of the most resourceintensive cash crops.

“To produce 1 kg of cotton, which is equivalent to a single T-shirt and a pair of jeans, 20,000 litres of water is needed. Globally, growing cotton requires 4 percent of the world’s freshwater for irrigation, 200,000 tonnes of pesticides and 8m tonnes of fertiliser annually. As the continent looks to industrialise the textile industry, cotton production will increase.

Thus, it is crucial to make the cotton-growing industry more sustainable and less resourceintensive,” the report said.

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AfCFTA establishes dispute settlement body

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he African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) secretariat has established and operaionalised a dispute settlement body under the dispute settlement protocol.

The AfCFTA dispute settlement body has been carefully negotiated by member states, following comprehensive consultations to ensure a full engagement on its implementation.

The body is composed of representatives of all State parties and monitors and evaluates the functions of the dispute settlement mechanism.

It is to be fast, efficient, rulesbased, and transparent.

Mr. Wamkele Mene, the Secretary-General of AfCFTA, announced this at the quarterly press briefing on AfCFTA and its achievements, status of implementation, and the next steps in Accra.

The press briefing was to also enhance the public’s understanding of the Agreement’s mandate-the advocacy role - to communicate on AfCFTA’s status report; policies, outcomes on strategic meetings, missions achievement, and strategic bilateral outcomes.

It is also to provide a platform of engagement between AfCFTA and the media and to build a

sustainable and visible brand presence of AfCFTA in the public.

He said currently, they are piloting the Pan-African Payments and Settlement System (PAPSS) in six West African countries, including Ghana, Nigeria, the Gambia, and Sierra Leone.

The PAPSS is a centralised payment and settlement infrastructure for intra-African trade and commerce payments.

The platform, which is being developed in collaboration with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) would facilitate payments as well as formalise some of the unrecorded trade due to the prevalence of informal cross-border trade in Africa.

He said the system was to reduce the reliance on foreign exchange while trading under the agreement and expressed the

hope that PAPSS would be ready by the end of 2021 to facilitate trade among countries.

It would also provide an alternative to current high-cost and lengthy correspondent banking relationships to facilitate trade and other economic activities among African countries through a simple, lowcost, and risk-controlled payment clearing and settlement system.

The benefits of PAPPS for crossborder payments include cost reduction; reduction in duration and time variability; decreasing liquidity requirements of commercial banks; decreasing liquidity requirements of central banks for settlement as well as its payments; and strengthening central banks’ oversight of cross border payment systems.

The Secretary-General said

they are in the final stages and preparations to launch the AfCFTA adjustment facility to mitigate the possible negative impact on revenue resulting from the implementation of the agreement.

“All the implementation and negotiations institutions structures have been established per the agreement including the standing committee for phase two matters,” he added.

He said the AfCFTA Secretariat had an advocacy and stakeholder engagement programme and missions to Egypt, Nigeria, Tanzania, DRC, and Angola to enhance the relationship between the secretariat and heads of States, foreign affairs and trade ministers.

Mr. Mene said the missions would also engage respective stakeholders to advocate and educate on the AfCFTA agreement and engage all whilst using the opportunity to create platforms of communication with youth and women stakeholders and position the brand.

He said the number of ratified countries had increased to 40 with the recent ratification coming from Zambia, Malawi, Algeria, and Burundi.

GNA

EU awards €400,000 grant to Pyramid Recycling Enterprise

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he European Union (EU) has awarded €400,000 for the establishment of a waste recycling factory in the country.

The award, which was given to Pyramid Recycling Enterprise, a local waste recycling company, was facilitated by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) under the Solutions Mapping Initiative of the UNDP Accelerator Lab in collaboration with the Ghana Waste Recovery Platform.

Recent statistics show that Ghana generates about 1m tons of plastic waste annually, of which only 2-5 percent (22,000-55,000 tons) is recycled. The rest ends on landfill sites (38 percent), is disposed on land (28 percent), sea (23 percent), or is burned (11 percent).

The grant to Pyramid Recycling Enterprise was made possible through a business incubation platform created by a UK charity organisation, Footprints Africa.

Footprints Africa, through its business incubation

platform, also presented a grant scheme opportunity, and Pyramid Recycling Enterprise subsequently received an amount of £25,000, which was invested into the expansion of the company.

Speaking on the development, Ibrahim Yougbare, Lead Recycler at Pyramid Enterprise, said “we live in a world of plastics, and this is money all around us when we put it to good use.”

According to him, “the waste recycling business is a profitable one, and he is ploughing back profits to make his business selfsustaining.” He added that one is likely to make about 40 percent profit on any capital invested into this business.

Mr. Yougbare has been working in the waste recovery sector for over 30 years, and he uses recycled plastic waste to produce chair leg floor protectors, curtain ropes, and plastic lumber for furniture.

He said the venture needs a lot of hands, and he is able to support other young people with gainful

Ibrahim Yougbare, Lead Recycler, Pyramid Recycling Enterprise

employment and experience to improve their livelihoods.

Meanwhile, Pyramid Enterprise also applied for the second edition of the UNDP Waste Innovation Challenge, supported by the Coca Cola Foundation.

The company was awarded US$36,000, part of which was invested in purchasing a new extruder, meaning the company can now recycle more plastics.

Pyramid Recycling Enterprise

employs 30 people, made up of 10 fixed-term workers, out of which seven are women and three are men, and 20 temporary workers.

The company hitherto recycled about 5.6 tons of plastics a week.

With the additional support, it is able to recycle up to 11.2 tons of plastics a week, through which it indirectly improves the incomes of over 100 waste collectors and plastic pickers in Ghana.

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‘Banks must report cybersecurity breaches’

By Emmanuel Kwarteng

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he Head of the National Cybersecurity Authority, Dr. Albert Antwi-Boasiako, is urging banks to collaborate with security agencies when they record breaches to their cybersecurity.

According to him, the National Cybersecurity Act mandates institutions such as banks to report incidents of breaches of their cybersecurity—a responsibility that must be performed without fail.

Dr. Antwi-Boasiako was speaking at the Ghana Chamber of Telecommunications’ Knowledge Forum Series which focused on cybersecurity.

He said while there is a tendency by banks to downplay such incidents in order to protect their reputations, that is not sufficient grounds not to report the incidents to the relevant agencies for a proper follow-up.

“We need to promote

transparency while at the same time ensuring confidentiality to insure our business operations; it’s a delicate balance,” he said.

“By transparency, I mean if a bank refuses to report an incident as prescribed by the act, that will not be acceptable—but I think what will equally not be businessappropriate is going to the media and showing the information on the breaches, looking at the

Ghanaian context,” he added.

Critical information infrastructure Dr. Antwi-Boasiako also noted that the authority has identified some 13 Critical Information Infrastructure (CII) that will be announced in the coming weeks by the sector minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful, adding that failure to protect and ensure their daily functioning will affect the

country severely.

The cybersecurity act, he said, protects both government and the private sector from threats of hackers. In addition, it provides for production of vital information by relevant bodies through judicial orders for prosecution of culprits.

It also grants the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police Service access to such information in their work.

Absa Bank CIB Team equips two schools to promote digital inclusion

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he Corporate and Investment Banking Team at Absa Bank Ghana has donated 100 set of desktop computers and accessories to the Kressner Children’s Home School in Amasaman and the St. Anthony Catholic School in Tantra Hill.

The project which cost

GH¢70,000 to refurbish and provide desktop computers to the two schools was aimed at supporting over 200 students become digitally savvy and abreast through the teaching and learning of Information Communication and Technology (ICT).

At a short handing over ceremony, Mrs. Ellen OheneAfoakwa, Regional Corporate Director, West Africa at Absa Bank said the donation forms part of the bank’s Force for Good agenda which encourages employees to play a shaping role in society.

“As a digitally-led bank with

an African heartbeat, Absa is passionate about the education and digital skills development of young people hence the need for us to contribute our quota to the promotion of digital literacy and inclusion in Ghana,” said Mrs. Ohene-Afoakwa.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has truly redefined our way of learning, working and way of life.

We therefore thought it expedient to equip these two schools with computers to enhance the teaching and learning of ICT,” she added.

According to Mrs. OheneAfoakwa, this is to show the bank’s commitment to promoting education and skills development by empowering the youth to become relevant to the changing needs of the world.

On his part, the Priest in Charge of Kressner Children’s Home School, Rev. Father Patrick Quarcoopome expressed gratitude to Absa Bank for the kind gesture.

Rev. Quarcoopome indicated that the support from Absa Bank will go a long way to complement the school’s efforts in helping the students embrace basic digital skills.

Authorities of the two schools promised to put the computer equipment to good use to the benefit of the students who will get first-hand feel of ICT learning.

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Huawei trains 50 staff of Energy Ministry on ICT

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uawei Technologies Ghana, in collaboration with the Ministry of Energy, has organised an ICT workshop for staff and management of the ministry.

The three-day workshop, which benefitted 50 civil servants from the ministry, focused mainly on highlighting digital transformation trends in the energy sector as well as building the ICT skills of the participants.

The workshop is this year’s curtain raiser for the Huawei Ghana Hi-Class (Huawei Intelligent Ghana Hub Class) initiative, which is part of the HIT (Huawei ICT Training) programme targeted at benefiting 10,000 Ghanaians by 2024.

Mr. Andrew Egyapa Mercer, Deputy Minister for Energy, speaking at the workshop said the ministry desired to build the ICT capacity of the staff.

“All around the world economies are bracing themselves for the fourth industrial revolution and at the core of these preparations is digital technology or ICTs," he said.

He said industries needed to embrace digitalisation to remain

competitive in the new era adding that as a ministry they are committed to building the capacity of it human resource to boost ICT literacy.

He commended Huawei for the initiative and called for more cooperation.

“I will like to commend Huawei for organising this workshop for the ministry. I hope that the workshop will go a long way to facilitate the digitalisation processes of the sector," he said.

He said as an industry leader in ICT, the ministry will look forward to engaging Huawei to leverage their global experience to transform the energy sector in Ghana.

Mr. Robin Liu, Executive Vice President, Global Energy Business Unit, Enterprise Business Group at Huawei Global, said, “All over the world, the energy industry remained the bedrock of economies and industries.

He said almost every industry

relied on energy or power to function properly in one way or the other and this made the sector the anchor of many economies.

He said it is, therefore, important that in going digital, the energy sector should be of critical interest for all.

“Huawei has helped many countries to digitalize key industries in the Energy Sector, mainly, Oil and Gas, and the Electricity or Power sectors,” he said.

ExxonMobil takes Stena drillship back to Guyana exploration well

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xxonMobil is back drilling at its second wildcat on the Canje block offshore Guyana after partially completing the well earlier this year.

The US supermajor was set to recommence drilling at the Jabillo-1 exploration well on 5 June, London-listed company Westmount Energy said, citing information from Guyana’s Maritime Administration Department.

Westmount holds an indirect interest in the block thought its 7.7% interest in JHI Associates, which has a 17.5percent stake in Canje.

Block operator ExxonMobil is once again using the drillship Stena Carron on the well. The Stena Drilling-owned unit had moved off the well earlier this to head to the US supermajor’s prolific adjacent Stabroek block to finish drilling the Koebi-1 well.

“Previously published information indicates that Jabillo-1 is a circa 1 billion barrel oil prospect targeting a Late Cretaceous, Liza-age equivalent, basin floor fan,” Westmount said, referring to JHI’s website.

Liza is the name of the first oil discovery made by ExxonMobil and its partners on the adjacent Stabroek block k to finish drilling the Koebi-1 well.

“Previously published

information indicates that Jabillo-1 is a circa 1 billion barrel oil prospect targeting a Late Cretaceous, Liza-age equivalent, basin floor fan,” Westmount said, referring to JHI’s website.

Liza is the name of the first oil discovery made by ExxonMobil and its partners on the adjacent Stabroek block.

Jabillo-1 is the second of three exploration wells ExxonMobil plans to drill on the Canje block this year, with the final well, Sapote-1, set to be the last in the campaign.

The first well, Bulletwood-1, failed to find commercial hydrocarbons. Before drilling it was estimated Bulletwood could hold 500 million barrels of oil.

Situated between 180 and 300 kilometres off Guyana’s coast, the Canje block covers 6021 square kilometres and water depths are between 1700 and 3000 metres.

ExxonMobil operates the block with a 35percent interest, French giant Total holds 35%, JHI has a 17.5percent stake and Mid-Atlantic Oil & Gas holds the remaining 12.5percent equity.

Source: EOIN O’CINNEIDE

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Two AgriTech challenge winners receive US$50,000 acceleration programme aimed business opportunities. seed funding each “The goal is to show them at equipping existing early-stage

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osmos Innovation Center (KIC) has announced OASAL Group and Fruitflour teams as the winners of the 2020 KIC AgriTech challenge in Accra.

The winners would receive US$50,000 each in seed funding and up to four years of business training, mentorship, and incubation at the Kosmos Innovation Center Hub located in Dzorwulu.

The challenge is a business competition aimed at developing the next generation of young entrepreneurs in Ghana’s agriculture sector.

At the incubation centre, OASAL Group and Fruitflour will learn how to turn their ideas into viable businesses.

Promising teams that did not win seed funding are eligible to continue benefitting from coaching offered by the Kosmos Innovation Center.

Mr. Joe Mensah, Senior Vice President and Head of the Ghana Business Unit for Kosmos Energy

and Chairman, said participants involved in the 2020 AgriTech Challenge deeply impressed him with their determination to succeed despite the challenges posed by the pandemic.

He said the quality of the teams, the entrepreneurial spirit and the potential of their business ideas were all testament to the work of everyone at the center and congratulated the OASAL Group and Fruitflour and wished them future success.

He said the challenge identified young people who were interested in starting a business and provided them with a system of training, workshops and support.

The 2020 challenge began in December 2019 with 150 young entrepreneurs selected from more than 1,000 applicants.

Mr. Mensah said the programme used coaching and market research tours across Ghana to encourage participants to take a fresh look at the agriculture value chain and identify new areas of

what’s possible, personally and professionally, if they’re willing to put in the effort. Business training and mentorship are delivered at key stages in the AgriTech challenge program and as part of a life-cycle of development and support.”

Mr. Mensah said throughout the programme, individual competitors established teams and participated in a series of pitch and elimination events, during which they presented their ideas to a panel of judges.

“Seed funding is offered to the final high-potential teams who go on to enter the dedicated incubator programme.

The AgriTech challenge has identified, nurtured, and funded some of the most promising youth-driven start-ups in Ghana today.”

Mr. Benjamin Gyan-Kesse, Director KIC, said the center would continue to support young entrepreneurs who were interested in transforming Ghana’s agriculture sector.

He said the newly introduced AgriTech Challenge Pro, an

teams or AgriTech startups with the right tools, funding and support to bring their business ideas or products to market and prepare them to scale, was currently accepting applications.

“The programme is developed to create opportunities for teams that are already formed and looking to take their business to the next stage,” he said.

Mr. Gyan-Kesse said, “KIC AgriTech Challenge Pro takes an inclusive approach, offering its services to all agricultural business teams in accordance with KIC’s goal of developing talent and advancing innovation in Ghana.

Cargill Ghana is providing technical support to the 2021 KIC AgriTech Challenge Pro and has donated US$100,000 to the program.

The other teams that participated in the challenge include Dairy Depot, Feed Heaven, Kaltivo, Kuanijom, Faakolore, Kaiyayo, Farmasyst, and Bolstaar.

Ecobank partners Enterprise to deliver pension-backed mortgage to workers

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cobank Ghana and Enterprise Trustees have signed a partnership agreement to introduce the first pension-backed mortgage loan and short-term loan facility in the country.

Under the partnership, Enterprise Trustees will make available to workers, whose pension funds reside at Enterprise, a package that enables them to attract pensionbacked mortgage and short-term loan facilities from Ecobank.

This comes as a huge relief to workers, who are now assured of securing decent custom-built homes, which will be fully paid for, ahead of their retirement, assuring them of peace and comfort at old age.

Mr. Joseph Ampofo, Managing Director of Enterprise Trustees, said this is collaboration between two industry giants, Ecobank Ghana and Enterprise Trustees, with a common shared value of excellence.

“We will certainly be guided by this, as we work together for the betterment of Ghanaian workers, who can now own homes through this unique mortgage solution offered under this partnership agreement.

“Among other features, we

guarantee beneficiaries under this scheme a 100percent financing arrangement, once they have a minimum of 20percent of the mortgage sum in their Tier 3 pension funds. As we play our fiduciary role as Trustees, clients of Enterprise Trustees pension schemes should rest assured we have their full interest at heart, and this is another addition to the exciting value we create for you in reaching your desired advantage,” he said.

Mr. Ampofo appealed to the media to help spread the benefits to be unlocked from long-term savings and investments, as evidenced under Tier 2 & 3 pension schemes.

He also encouraged both formal and informal workers to fully subscribe to provident & personal pension schemes to enable them realise more positive retirement outcomes.

For his part, the Managing Director of Ecobank Ghana, Mr. Daniel Sackey said there is a growing demand globally for excellent customer-friendly financial services across various customer segments, making it imperative for corporate institutions to customise their products and services to suite the various segments.

“It is for this reason that Ecobank continues to seek ways to leverage technology and strategic partnerships to serve its markets.

We therefore see this EcobankEnterprise Trustees partnership agreement signing ceremony as coming at an opportune time to enable our joint institutions make a meaningful contribution towards helping Ghana reduce its ever-growing housing deficit,” he said.

According to Mr Sackey, under the partnership agreement, Enterprise Trustees will make available to all workers, whose pension funds reside at Enterprise, a package that enables them to attract mortgage from Ecobank with zero down payments.

“The bank will disburse the

mortgage loan to the beneficiaries, who will pay monthly installments over a fifteen-year period.

Additionally, the beneficiaries can attract short-term loans from Ecobank, which loan will also be paid back over 3 years. I therefore encourage Ghanaian workers to take the opportunity being offered today to acquire decent homes or access any funding they require for other important needs. Every Ghanaian deserves an affordable decent home and access to funding, as and when necessary,” he said.

It is reckoned that Ghana’s housing deficit is now in excess of 2 million housing units, affecting about 60percent of the country’s population who would require some form of government assistance to access housing.

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Internet governance in perspective

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nternet governance (IG) is the development and application of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and usage of the Internet. It is the design and maintenance of global Internet architecture, bothering on areas including infrastructure and standardization, legal, cybersecurity, development, economic, sociocultural, and human rights issues. It is now an active topic of international discussion, in this age of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning. Interest has been fueled by media attention to cybercrime, global surveillance, commercial espionage, cyberattacks, and threats to critical national infrastructures. It is also the development and application by governments, the private sector, and civil society, in their respective roles, of shared principles, norms, rules, decision-making procedures, and programs that shape the evolution and usage of the Internet.

The Internet in today’s world is growing faster than expected such that the governance of the Internet has become an important subject of study. Internet governance affects various critical issues,

such as open access, freedom of expression, innovation and new applications, commerce, development, and security. The greater part of conversations on Internet governance is often dictated by geopolitical issues and has been within the levels of politicians, political analysts, and other stakeholders. With the perceived dominance of the developed nations in such discussions, developing countries have realized the essence to exercise control over the Internet within their countries. All these issues make Internet governance a potentially important area of study for Information Systems researchers and academics.

In this article, I briefly trace the history of Internet governance, and using that as the basis, briefly explore Internet governance from a developing economy perspective, examine few issues, and point out the actors of global Internet governance.

Regulating the Internet has always been a controversial matter. Its original designers kept its operational design open and free, conceiving it as an open communication system that would enable academics to collaborate and exchange ideas and information without being tied to organizational

and hierarchical constraints (Leiner et al., 2003). Thus, the Internet was designed as a highly redundant and inter-connected network of networks in which data communications would not be completely disrupted even if parts of the network were to go down. A disruption in any part of the network would cause data packets to simply take alternate routes to reach their destinations.

The Internet saw rapid growth in the 1990s, with the invention of protocols such as HTTP, the world-wide-web (www) platform, and the graphical web browser.

These advancements enabled anybody who had Internet access to connect to the web.

The Internet then became a tool for unregulated expression, communication, entertainment, and trade. Over the period, governments have found various reasons to control and regulate the Internet. It has become necessary for more stakeholders, especially from the African region, to have greater say in the global management of the Internet.

Some argue that since the Internet is a global public good, its management, governance, and regulation should not rest in the hands of a few administrators who often represented developed countries. They oppose that

Internet governance should only be in the hands of those countries that originally built the Internet infrastructure.

These views, as we see today, have affected the Internet and its future of communications, commerce, free expression, and national security.

Recently, some of the emerging economies have also raised their stakes in Internet governance, partly out of concern that not doing so will affect their own economic and social well-being in the future through a form of digital colonization.

This promotes better decision making by ensuring that the views of the key actors concerned about a particular decision are heard and integrated at all stages through dialogue and consensusbuilding; create trust between the actors and solutions that provide mutual benefits, using peoplecentered approach and everyone involved takes responsibility for the outcome, giving stakeholders a greater sense of ownership for decisions made.

Author: Richard Kafui Amanfu – (Director of Operations, Institute of ICT Professionals, Ghana) For comments, contact richard. amanfu@iipgh.org or Mobile: +233244357006

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ITA’s Agribusiness Digital Lab gives local agripreneurs a taste of Italy’s finest technology

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he Italian Trade Agency (ITA) has successfully organized its Ghana-Italy Agribusiness Digital Lab to connect Ghanaian agripreneurs to Italian agribusiness giants, who boast world-leading technologies and products capable of transforming agribusiness development in Ghana.

The event came off on June 22 via virtual B2B meetings between the Ghanaian and Italian companies. Over 50 Ghanaian-led agro companies took part in the meetings and received first-hand information about Italian technology and the offerings of Italian agro-based firms in Agricultural Machinery; Cold Chain and Logistics; Seeds, Greenhouse and Irrigation; and Sorting, Processing and Packaging.

Italy is a leader in each of these agribusiness fields, and the Italian companies that met the Ghanaian firms during the Digital Lab are among the most outstanding global brands in these sectors. This gave rise to highly positive feedback from the Ghanaian companies about their interactions, with many expecting to establish longlasting commercial partnerships with the Italian firms.

Eric Kwabena Agyei, a participant from 3E Farms and Foods, described the Digital Lab as a “gold mine of opportunities” since it enabled his business build the right linkages and

partnerships with seasoned agribusiness brands.

He was also impressed with the Italian agricultural machinery and technology that was exhibited, and said he looked forward to solid partnerships that would drive the growth and profitability of his enterprise.

“Last year’s Virtual Macfrut Exhibition opened our business for partnerships, and this virtual B2B meeting is another dimension of opportunities coming. We are grateful to ITA for this initiative,” he said.

According to the ITA, the Digital Lab was conceived in response to requests by Ghanaian entrepreneurs to know more about Italian technology as well as Italian brands that are ready to enter the Ghanaian market.

And true to expectations, the Digital Lab confirmed Italy’s reputation for developing robust and sustainable agricultural technology that suits every climate and context in the world, making a strong case for the adoption of Italian technology to transform and modernize Ghana’s agriculture.

Anthony Morrison, CEO of the Chamber of Agribusiness Ghana, had this to say about the event: “My general impression was excellent; the Italian partners were very helpful, understanding and supportive. The Digital Lab provided us the opportunity to reach out to more people within a few hours.”

To Sam Zacca of Agrigenix, the Digital Lab was a perfect opportunity to explore business opportunities with international agribusiness brands in an interactive setting.

Highly convinced of the quality and superiority of Italian agro-products and know-how, he called for a dedicated credit facility with favorable terms and conditions to enable local firms purchase Italian equipment and technologies.

“The Italian technologies, products and know-how of the various firms are practical; they are the required type of equipment and technologies for the Ghanaian market,” he added.

Another participant, Prince Israel Akwaaba of the social impact organization Community Agricultural Development (CAD Ghana), identified big prospects for collaborations that will improve the lives and livelihoods of Ghanaians, especially women entrepreneurs in some remote areas of the country.

The Digital Lab, he said, provided the platform for discussions on exploring several technologies and opportunities in the agro extraction industry in Ghana and Italy.

“One of the Italian companies discussed the idea of collaborating with the Italian embassy to set up a smallcapacity processing facility to assist the rural women in the northern regions to process shea

nuts into unrefined butter for export to Italy. This initiative, if developed, would be able to serve over 5,000 shea butter women entrepreneurs.”

Sharing his thoughts on Italian technology, he said: “The Italian companies have rich experience and the capacity to produce a complete manufacturing line for mixing, processing, thermal procedures and world-class technologies for the food and agro extraction industry. The availability of a technical team, state-of-the-art research, and a development and innovation laboratory for potential clients is an excellent strategy to enable direct consultations between the manufacturer and the client.”

ITA supports the business development of Italian companies abroad whilst attracting foreign direct investments to Italy.

With a motivated and modern organization and a widespread network of overseas offices, ITA provides business assistance and training to small and mediumsized Italian businesses using multi-channel promotion and communication tools.

Through the Digital Lab, the agency has facilitated strong connections and linkages that will spawn strategic partnerships between Italian agro-tech innovators and local agribusiness firms to transform the nation’s agricultural landscape.

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Why should GDP be the only indicator of progress? Part 1

By Ms Grace Garland, Dr John Morrison and Prof Piet Naud BLURB GDP is a production-based measure of progress. It measures growth – the more, the better.

But now, the use of GDP is being challenged by the growing consciousness of environmental and human development imperatives. Why should there be only one indicator to capture growth?

GDP as the most widely used economic statistic in the world Gross domestic product (GDP) has been the subject of academic scrutiny for as long as it has existed, largely owing to the common, and problematic, practice of conflating GDP growth with success and shrinkage with failure.

Any common-use mention of GDP invariably carries the same understanding – the bigger, the better. An overall increase is generally understood as an indication of progress at societal level, while an increase per capita implies that the standard of living has progressed at individual level.

GDP remains the most widely used economic statistic in the world, featuring as a topic of discussion from the dinner table to the board room. Changes in GDP have wide-ranging effects for multilateral negotiations, politics, the media, international laws, national policies, institutional investments and individual life choices. In each context, the same implicit understanding is present: the more growth, the better things

must be.

However, GDP was never intended to be an allencompassing progress measure.

The concept of progress is far more ambiguous and complex than what the linear logic of GDP was designed to capture. Some argue for the dismantling and replacement of GDP, suggesting that its use as an indicator of progress is an institutionalised mirage at best, or a structural information failure at worst. Many have tried to come up with an alternative. None have succeeded entirely.

The last few decades have witnessed an increasing awareness of the sustainability crisis, magnifying the scepticism that was already surrounding GDP and its exclusively economic parameters. Some of the countries that look the healthiest in GDP terms, and enjoy huge power and prestige as a result, have turned out to be the biggest contributors to climate breakdown, a planetwide existential threat. Something is amiss.

If the fundamental logic of GDP is based on growth, it can only be an appropriate indicator in a boundary-less context, which is a characteristic the earth does not have. Growth, as an end in itself, is a wrong-headed goal for life on a planet with limited resources.

Logically, it is not hard to see why GDP is not fit-for-purpose.

So why has the widespread intellectual critique of this one-dimensional (economic) progress measurement failed to establish a new paradigm in which economic growth is not automatically equated with

rightness? A possible framework for understanding this apparent paradox, or stalemate, is Thomas Kuhn’s The Structure of Scientific Revolutions (1962). Kuhn was a physicist who developed a lens for understanding how and why major changes in thinking take place, and why sometimes they do not.

He suggested that no empirical practice exists in isolation from the inherited set of beliefs and values of the prevailing paradigm in which it is practiced. For the practice to change, the paradigm must change too, and paradigmatic change is nothing short of “revolution”.

Analogously, prioritising GDP is consistent practice for a society in which material accumulation, industrialisation and consumption are foundational values in policymaking and, indeed, individual life choices. So, it is a revolution of values that is needed, not just a methodological amendment.

Despite historic and mounting criticism of GDP, a revolution in progress measurement has failed to take place, and the paradigm that exclusively conflates economic growth with progress prevails. Using Kuhn’s terms, society is in “crisis”.

in a few quantitative indicators is useful and necessary for effective decision making.

By reducing a complex reality into a few basic elements, people are able to apply analytical logic to the present and indeed forecast the future, bringing a degree of certainty and comfort. However, this can create an illusion of simplicity which effectively blinds the decision-maker to factors that fall outside of the described measure. In the case of GDP, such factors would include the ecological, social and nonmarket indicators that can also be measured, though not necessarily in monetary terms.

Because human beings are limited in their ability to comfortably entertain a large and diverse number of informational inputs at the same time, we are predisposed to focus on only one or two in the way we construct the world. This bounded selection process is informed by personal preference of what is convenient, quick or familiar (or ideally, all three).

The GDP calculation and mainstream interpretation thereof fulfil these criteria, making it the obvious choice for progress measurement.

Is GDP a catch-all for societal progress?

Join us for a virtual information session on Thursday 26th of August 2021, by registering with: Dr Marietjie van der Merwe Ghana In-Country Representative marie@globalnatives.com WhatsApp:+230 5 701 1362 For more information on Stellenbosch University Business School: https://www.usb.ac.za/

Human beings have been committing vast amounts of energy to measure things since the early Enlightenment period, making sense of the world around them through statistics and data. This ability to capture the chaos of multifaceted reality

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