Wednesday, 1st June, 2022

Page 10
The Chief Executive
Officer of MTN Mobile
Money Company
Limited, Eli Hini wants
businesses to adapt to
changing trends in technology
Bank of Ghana Governor
Ernest Addison has
said developments
in global capital
markets, combined
with internal challenges that
resulted in the rating downgrade
of Ghana’s economy, have played
out to exacerbate price and
exchange rate pressures in the
domestic economy.
The Ghana cedi, he noted,
came “under severe pressure
in the first quarter of 2022
as offshore investors exited
positions in domestic securities
at a time when domestic demand
for forex had increased”.
Speaking at the 6th CEO
Summit in Accra on Monday,
30 May 2022, Dr. Addison said:
“The FX pressures, coupled
with tight forex liquidity due to
absence from the international
capital markets, contributed
to the significant currency
depreciation”.
Cumulatively, he said the
Ghana cedi depreciated by 15.8
per cent against the US dollar
in the year to 18th May 2022,
compared with an appreciation
of 0.5 per cent in the same period
of 2021.
“To ease off increased
volatility in the foreign exchange
(FX) market, the Bank extended
the forward auctions to include
the Bulk Oil Distributing
Companies”.
“This formed part of the
measures taken by the Bank
to address the FX liquidity
constraints within the local
petroleum sector and aid price
discovery, especially for the
general pricing window within
the downstream sector”, he
noted.
Also, Dr. Addison said recent
Business
DAILY ANALYST Wednesday, 1st June, 2022
Businesses must adapt to changing
trends of technology – Eli Hini
Chief Executive Officer of MTN Mobile
Money Company Limited, Eli Hini
in their operations.
Speaking in the first series
of fora as part of this year’s Citi
Business Festival, Mr. Hini said
businesses willing to resort to
new forms of technology in their
transactions are more likely to
thrive.
“There will be winners and
gainers in every situation, and
what happens is how businesses
adapt to changing trends [of
technology]… Once you do not
get on, you lose out.”
Citing an example to
establish his point, Mr. Hini
said MTN’s decision to digitalise
money transactions through the
introduction of mobile money
has yielded diverse benefits for
the company.
“When we started mobile
money, we started not because
we were ready. It was what was
happening, and we had to get
along with it,” he explained.
Dr. Hini also touched on
strategies that are central
to positioning businesses as
“market leaders.”
He believes businesses need
to adopt the three strategies
of innovation, investment and
channels to stand out.
While he believes innovation
Cedi has depreciated by
15.8% – BoG Governor
price developments indicate
elevated pressures from both
domestic and external sources.
These include the global
energy and food price shock,
and its consequential upward
adjustments on domestic expump
petroleum prices and
transportation costs, domestic
food prices, as well as the passthrough
effects of the recent
exchange rate depreciation.
Headline inflation, he added,
“has increased sharply from 13.9
per cent in January 2022 to 23.6
per cent in April 2022, driven by
both food and non-food prices”.
“The Bank of Ghana’s
inflation target is 8+/- 2 %. The
current inflation of 23.6 per cent
is about three times the central
target of the Central Bank, and
has significantly complicated
the conduct of monetary policy,
making those of us in charge very
uncomfortable”.
“But I am sure that our
discomfort cannot be compared
to the feeling of the ordinary
man in the street who is
confronted with these rapid
changes in prices on a day to day
basis. I think we have all begun
to appreciate the importance of
stability in sustaining livelihoods
and standards of living”.
The developments in the
global economy, Dr. Addison
mentioned, “Have impacted
Ghana strongly as it is occurring
at the same time that the country
is not able to access capital
markets to raise money due to
the rating downgrade, as it has
done for the past few years”.
“This has elevated Ghana’s
external vulnerabilities and
translated into the balance of
payments pressures, although,
the trade surplus improved
somewhat, due to higher crude
oil export earnings. However, the
significant net portfolio reversals
and weak inflows into the capital
and financial account resulted in
a widened balance of payments
outturn and loss of reserves in
the first quarter of 2022”.
“The prevailing tight global
financing conditions, and further
policy rate hikes in advanced
economies continue to make the
external financing conditions
unfavourable, posing real risks to
the external outlook”.
“The developments have
also impacted Government
finances and created financing
challenges for the budget.
The issuance of bonds and
securities have not been met
with significant uptakes by
the market. In response, the
Government announced a series
of expenditure cuts of up to
nearly 30 percent to deal with
the situation. It is expected that
the US$2 billion dollar syndicated
facility will provide some relief to
both the budget and the balance
of payments”.
Ernest Addison
plays a key role in meeting the
changing trends of consumers’
interest and demands, he posited
that channels are necessary for
reaching the customers.
“Innovation is important.
Investment is equally important.
If you do not invest, you will not
get the technology and customer
interest.”
The forum forms part of Citi
FM/Citi TV’s annual month-long
Citi Business Festival, which
seeks to shape businesses.
The Citi Business Festival
is an extensive program of
business events and on-air
Acting Chief
Enablement and
Information Officer
at ABSA Bank,
Justice Amegashie
has underscored the need for
entrepreneurs to embrace
Ghana’s emerging digital
economy to turn around their
businesses.
Speaking on the first of a
series of fora as part of the 2022
Citi Business Festival, Justice
Amegashie said, “the digital
economy is definitely a boost for
entrepreneurs. The main reason
is that our digital technologies
allow scaling up quickly and
broadens your reach.”
Citing examples from the
world of social media marketing,
he said businesses that take
advantage of the digital space
are likely to improve customers’
reach and scale-up.
The forum was themed, “Reimagining
the Digital Economy.”
It explored the possibilities
for business in the new
business ecosystem as the world
approaches the fourth industrial
revolution, which is driving
changes in the new digital
economy.
“For instance, the word is out
for social media marketing. Just
in the comfort of your office, you
are able to reach out on what you
are offering. The cost to produce
activities providing inspiration,
business ideas, and information
to persons who are starting,
building, or growing their
businesses.
The forum’s theme, which
was on the topic, “Re-imagining
the Digital Economy” explored
the possibilities for business in
the new business ecosystem as
the world approaches the fourth
industrial revolution, which
is driving changes in the new
digital economy.
It was hosted by Kokui
Selormey-Hanson with other
panel members from the Bank of
Ghana, IT Consortium and ABSA
Bank.
Later in the week, two other
topics; “Transforming business
using digital technology” and
“Understanding the mobile
finance ecosystem” will also be
discussed.
Opportunities abound in
Ghana’s digital economy
–ABSA Bank’s Justice Amegashie
will even reduce because
you have been able to get the
digitized version of that.”
“In a nutshell, it tackles
the inefficiencies we have in
the traditional setting. So for
entrepreneurs, that reach and
online presence is enormous,
and I think that entrepreneurs
must take advantage of it.”
“The other thing is the
ability to scale quickly. In all of
this, they have the opportunity
to innovate and improve
processes. These are some of
the things entrepreneurs must
allude to and get the needed
advantage”, he added.
The entire month of June is
dedicated to business on Citi TV
and 97.3 Citi FM.
For the 2022 edition, the
themes outlined during the
period are as follows:
Week 1: Re-imagining the
Digital Economy
Week 2: Resetting your SME
after COVID-19
Week 3: The Ghana
Opportunity
Week 4: Consumer Markets
Week 5: Agribusiness
ABSA Bank is the main
sponsor of the Citi Business
Festival 2022 with support from
MTN Momo and MTN Business
Support, Ghana Investment
Promotion Centre (GIPC) and IT
Consortium.