Accra, Nov. 27, -The maiden
edition of EMPRETEC Ghana Foundation’s programme dubbed “Meeting the Giants of
Industry Evening Encounter” has been held in Accra.
The programme, an informal
platform for entrepreneurs to learn from big shots in the industry to help them
grow and expand, was sponsored by Prudential Bank.
Speaking at the event which was
attended by scores of entrepreneurs the Minister for Trade and Industry, Alan
John Kwadwo Kyerematen underscored the indispensable role entrepreneurship plays
in the development of every country.
According to him, the key to the
prosperity and wealth of nations lies in the quality of its entrepreneurs and
not the nation’s natural resources as many believe.
"Otherwise how do you
explain that Japan, with absolutely no natural resource is the second or third
most powerful nation in the world? And you consider many African countries that
control virtually all the strategic natural resources in the world but are
considered to be poor.”
He said Ghanaians must take
entrepreneurship seriously to propel the country’s development.
Mr Kyerematen, citing the height
to which entrepreneurs can reach, extolled Mark Zuckerberg, Chief Executive
Officer (CEO) of Facebook who, through
his social media platform created in 2004, has annual turnover of $27 billion, nearly
half of Ghana’ gross domestic product(GDP).
“There is something in
entrepreneurship we as Ghanaians ought to appreciate if we want to move
forward” he said and commended EMPRETEC Ghana for creating the platform for
young entrepreneurs to excel.
The Chief Executive Officer of
EMPRETEC Ghana, Emmanuel Dei-Tumi, in his welcome address announced that the
foundation would offer free training to entrepreneurs, as part of its efforts
to support the growth of the industry.
This, he said would be done in
collaboration with Invest in Africa (IIA) , a not-for-profit organisation with
the vision to create thriving African economies, which is absorbing the
fees for the trainees.
He said the foundation would
continue to build competences of entrepreneurs through its evening encounters
and other platforms and urged entrepreneurs to take advantage of the various
opportunities.
Mr Dei-Tumi said the programme
would be organized every month to afford young entrepreneurs to learn from
others experiences and also network.
Mr Moses Baiden, CEO of Margins
Group, sharing his experience, recounted his early years as an entrepreneurs
and how passion, persistence and perseverance has been a driving force of his
exploits.
He urged entrepreneurs to be
strong in the face of adversity and refuse to allow failure discourage them
from pursuing their dreams, saying “When you fall, get up, re-strategise and
continue.”
He also asked them to plan and monitor their
progress, utilize any opportunity and honour contract commitments to help build
trust, which comes in handy in times of need.
CEO of Home Foods and Cannery
Limited, Madam Felicia Twumasi, said financial gains must not be the sole
reason for establishment of business and that businesses must impact society.
Sharing her experience with
exports of food, she stressed the need for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises
(SMEs) to place value on their products to attract customers and not allow
minor setbacks to kill their dreams.
Deputy Managing Director (Banking
Operations) of Prudential Bank, Mr Richard Acolatse, said the bank since its
inception had provided support for SMEs and would continue to collaborate with
other institutions to offer more support.
Ato Panford, Member of Parliament
for Shamaa Constituency and Chairman of National Board for Small Scale
Industries, who presided over the event, commended EMPRETEC for supporting SMEs
over the years.
GNA
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