Business Analyst - June 9

BUSINESS MARKET RATES
US$ 1 – GH¢7.80
GHANA STOCK WED, 8 JUNE. 2022
Indices and Market Cap Level Previous Level Change % Change
Gse Composite Index 2,810.01 2,798.27 +11.74 +0.42%
Gse Financial Index 2,073.63 2,073.63 0.00 0.00%
Gse Market Cap (GHs 'mn) 63,883.61 63,760.71 +122.90 +0.19%
COCOA: US$2,473.00 per tonne
CRUDE OIL: US$104.6 per barrel
GOLD: US$1,851.99 per ounce
Thursay, June 9, 2022. Vol. No. 163
GH¢2.50
• Dr Ernest
Addison, BoG
Governor
• Mr. Joshua Mortoti,New President
Interest rates could
rise as high as 27%
very soon due to
rising inflation.
Inflation hit 27.6% in
May 2022, due to rising prices
of food and fuel. this has
come as a result of the
russian invasion of Ukraine
which has escalated some
food prices, particularly wheat
and grain as well as crude oil.
But usually, investors will
invest in assets or financial
instruments that will give
them a higher return of
inflation plus one or more.
this means interest rates
on the money market which
have reached very high levels
in more than six years will go

Thursday, June 9, 2022
Ukraine war's impact on food
security severe — UN chief
In pictures: Ukrainian forces near
Izyum, south of Kharkiv
As the war in Ukraine grinds on,
we've received new pictures
showing Ukrainian soldiers
near the frontlines of Izyum,
south of Kharkiv.
A Ukrainian serviceman keeps watch
near the frontlines of Izyum
A Ukrainian serviceman keeps watch
near the frontlines of Izyum...Image
caption: A Ukrainian serviceman keeps
watch near the frontlines of Izyum...
A Ukrainian serviceman keeps watch at
a trench position near the frontlines of
Izyum
While his colleague looks on from a
trench position nearby...Image caption:
While his colleague looks on from a trench
position nearby...
A Ukrainian serviceman checks his rifle
And this soldier checks his rifleImage
caption: And this soldier checks his rifle
russian economy to shrink by
18% by 2023 - report
russian President Vladimir Putin is
pictured in Moscow
Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images
Global banking experts believe russia's
economy will shrink 15% by the end of the
year - and a further 3% in 2023 - due to
Western sanctions, a mass exodus of
companies and a collapse in exports.
the figures could be even worse if
europe fully weans itself off russian energy,
the Institute of International Finance (IIF)
warned.
In a report about the effects of war on
russia's finances, the IFF said measures
imposed on Moscow by the UK, eU and Us
would only expand and tighten in the
coming months.
they've already triggered the "full
disintegration of 30 years of investment" for
russia, elina ribakova, the IIF's deputy chief
economist, said. she added it was hard to put
a figure on "ripping apart 15 years of value
chains".
Aiden Aslin (left) and shaun Pinner
(centre) have been pictured in footage
alongside Moroccan national saaudun
Brahim
Aiden Aslin (left) and shaun Pinner
(centre) were shown alongside Moroccan
national saaudun BrahimImage caption:
Aiden Aslin (left) and shaun Pinner (centre)
were shown alongside Moroccan national
saaudun Brahim
two Britons and a Moroccan man who
were captured while fighting for Ukraine
have pleaded partially guilty in a court in
the so-called Donetsk People's republic
(DPr), according to russian state media.
Aiden Aslin, 28, from nottinghamshire,
shaun Pinner, 48, from Bedfordshire and
Moroccan national saaudun Brahim were
seen in a video of the court proceedings
published by news agency ria novosti.
In the video, Aslin appeared to plead
guilty to a lesser charge involving weapons
and explosives.
He was seen standing in the cage leafing
through several pages of legal documents as
the charge was read out.
the head of the DPr, Denis Pushilin,
said on Monday that the death penalty
could not be ruled out for the men.
russia suffering major losses in
severodonetsk, says Zelensky
Ukrainian President Volodymyr
Zelensky says defenders in the city of
severodonetsk were inflicting major losses
on russian troops during what he called "a
very fierce and very difficult battle".
"In many respects, the fate of the
Donbas is being decided there," he said in
an online address reported by the reuters
news agency.
As we've been reporting, most of
severodonetsk is under russian control and
Ukrainian fighters now hold only the city's
outskirts, according to the regional
governor.
russia is sending Ukrainian grain
overseas, officials claim
russia is sending grain from Ukraine
overseas, russian-appointed officials in
occupied southern Ukraine say.
the claim - which the BBC has not been
able to verify - comes as Ukrainian officials
accuse russia of stealing about 600,000
tonnes of its grain and exporting some of it.
russia denies it is stealing grain.
Accessing Ukraine's stockpiled grain has
become urgent internationally: millions of
tonnes are exported annually to Africa and
the Middle east.
But it cannot be shipped now because
russia's navy is blockading Ukraine's Black
sea ports.
And russia says Ukraine must de-mine
waters off the Black sea Coast for corridors
to export the grain to become operational.
Visa scheme only for children with
parents - UK government
We reported earlier on a case raised in
the House of Commons of a 13-year-old
Ukrainian girl refused a visa to enter the UK
because she was travelling with her sister,
rather than her parents.
Labour MP tulip siddiq said the older
sister, 18, was now in London but her sister
had returned to her Ukrainian home in a
town she said was under siege. she asked
the prime minister if it was right to send a
child back to a war zone.
We asked the government to comment
and the Department for Levelling Up,
Housing and Communities, which shares
responsibilities for issuing visas to
Ukrainian refugees with the Home office,
referred us back to Boris Johnson's reply to
the MP.
APC presidential primary: Bola Tinubu to contest Nigeria election
ForMer Lagos governor Bola tinubu will
lead nigeria's ruling All Progressives
Congress (APC) into next year's general
elections after a landslide victory in the
party primary.
Mr tinubu, 70, secured more than half
of the votes at the party's convention.
He will be challenged in February by
Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition
Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and
Labour's Peter obi, among others.
President Muhammadu Buhari will
step down in May after two four-year
terms.
Mr tinubu, whose victory was helped
by seven aspirants stepping down for him
before voting began, will now look to unify
the different voting blocks in the party.
He polled 1,271 votes to defeat his
closest rival, former transport Minister
rotimi Amaechi, who polled 316 votes.
Vice-President Yemi osinbajo came third
with 235, while senate President Ahmad
Lawan got 152.
Who is Bola tinubu?
Mr tinubu sold himself to party
delegates on his stewardship of nigeria's
biggest city, Lagos, which he led between
1999 and 2007, overseeing the
transformation of its revenue and public
transport.
He will now be looking to do the same
with millions of nigerian voters, many of
whom are suspicious of his reported
health issues and allegations of corruption,
which he denies.
the convention started on Monday, a
day after gunmen killed worshippers in
ondo state, in the south-west.
the attack at the st Francis Catholic
church in the town of owo highlighted the
worsening insecurity under the APC,
which nigeria's next president will have to
confront.
that, along with high unemployment
and rising inflation are expected to be the
main election issues.
some of the aspirants took moments
before their speeches to acknowledge those
killed in the massacre.
the APC emerged as a coalition of
major political parties from northern and
western nigeria in 2013 and managed to
seize power from the PDP in 2015, when
President Buhari secured the first of his
two election victories.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
Interest rates may hit 27% soon
• Continued from front
up again to almost 30%.
According to figures from the
Ghana statistical service, the rate of
inflations for transport (39.0%),
Household equipment and
Maintenance (33.8%), Housing, Water,
Gas, and electricity (32.3%), and Food
and non-Alcoholic Beverages (30.1.6%)
were higher than the national average
(27.6%).
In May 2022, 12 of the 13 divisions
recorded inflation rates higher than the
rolling average from June 2021 to May
2022.
• As Inflation surges to 27.6% due to
increasing transport fares, food prices
the data also showed that Food
inflation in May 2022 was 30.1%,
compared with 26.6% in April 2022.
non-food Inflation was however 25.7%
in May 2022, as against 21.3% the
previous month.
the margins between food and nonfood
inflation were 4.4 percentage
points relative to 5.4 percentage points
for March 2022 and 5.3 percentage
points for April 2022.
Focusing on year-on-year, food
inflation for May 2022, five sub-classes
record inflation rates higher than the
overall food inflation (30.1%). this was
distantly led by oils and Fats (52.0%)
followed by Water (42.4%).
the inflation for imported goods
was 28.2%, which is higher than the
24.7% recorded for April 2022, while the
inflation for locally produced items was
27.3%, up from the 23.0% recorded in
April 2022.
Meanwhile, eastern region for the
first time in a while recorded the
highest rate of inflation of 31.2% due to
rising food prices in the region.
Upper east region, however,
recorded the lowest inflation rate of
19.5% while the Greater Accra region
recorded an inflation rate of 29.7%.
Ashanti region recorded an inflation
rate of 27.1%.
Chamber of Mines elects
new president, executives
By Freeman
Koryekpor Awlesu
tHe Ghana Chamber of Mines has elected
and inducted a new President, Mr. Joshua
Mortoti, executive Vice President and Head
of West Africa for Gold Fields.
Mr. Mortoti takes over from Mr. eric
Asubonteng, Managing Director of Anglo-
Gold Ashanti obuasi who served two terms
in the last four years.
General Manager of Chirano Gold
Mines, Mr. George nutor and Managing Director
of Adamus resources, Ms. Angela List
were also elected first and second Vice Presidents
respectively.
Accepting the mantle of leadership, Mr.
Mortoti expressed the hope that the mines
would continue to work together “to drive
the agenda of a responsible and sustainable
mining in Ghana that provides enduring
value to our host communities, government,
and our investors.”
He stated that taking up such a role in
these times of global uncertainty coupled
with domestic socio-economic challenges
“is quite a daunting task, but surmountable
with the support of every one of you within
the industry.
It is, therefore, an honour and pleasure
to serve as the President of our beloved
Chamber and to lead its engagements and
advocacy for the next two years.”
Handing over the baton to the new president,
immediate Past President, Mr. eric
Asubonteng, said “my four-year tenure as
the 38th President of this Chamber has provided
me with the opportunity to steer my
passion and that of my colleagues to bring
about positive and instrumental change in
the mining sector.”
Mr. Asubonteng said “My time as President
has been an instructive journey and
has afforded me the opportunity to influence
“big picture” initiatives in the industry.
the experience and lessons learned are
ones that will serve me well, beyond my
tenure as the President of the Chamber.”
He further assured the new President,
Mr. Mortoti and the Chamber of his continuous
involvement and support.
ProFILe oF JosHUA MortotI
Joshua Mortoti is a Mechanical and
Mining engineer with over 26 years of experience
in the mining industry.
His areas of expertise include managing
mine operations, engineering, strategic
planning, and business development.
Additionally, he is knowledgeable in energy
management and accounting. He
joined Gold Fields in April 2021 as Vice President
– operations for the West Africa region
and became the Acting eVP and Head
of the region on 1 January 2022.
Prior to joining Gold Fields, Josh spent
15 years with newmont, working in various
senior managerial and executive roles, including
General Manager of the Akyem
Mine, General Manager - operational services,
Mine Manager of the Ahafo Mine, regional
Business Planning Director, as well
as regional Capital and energy Manager.
Mr. Mortoti was also the Business Development
Manager for AngloGold Ashanti’s
West Africa operations. He previously
served on the technical committees of
Ghana’s Public Utilities regulatory Commission,
Ghana standards Board and the
energy Commission.
He was involved in developing Ghana’s
power regulatory framework and led the
• Continued on page 5
ECG’s problems are
beyond tariff increment!
• Former Power Minister argues
It will take more than a tariff
adjustment to save the electricity
Company of Ghana (eCG)
from its current financial problems,
former Minister of Power,
Dr. Kwabena Donkor, has underscored.
this is at the back of a proposal
by eCG for an increment
of more than 140% in tariffs to
enable the power distribution
company cover fully the cost of
distributing power.
speaking with Citi Business
news, which was monitored by
Business AnALYst, Dr. Donkor
who doubles as the ranking
Member on the employment,
social Welfare, and state enterprises
Committee, stressed the
need for eCG to permanently
address its perennial technical
and managerial challenges instead
of focusing on tariff increment.
“eCG has a fundamental
problem of non-collection,
lethargic management, political
and non-commercial intervention.
eCG is currently
making commercial and technical
losses of 30 percent. If
eCG buys 100 units of power, it
is only able to sell 70 units. so
no matter the markup you give
them, it won’t make up for the
30 percent loss,” he said.
“those losses are made up
of technical losses because they
have underinvested over the
years and therefore the technical
infrastructure leaks power
when they’re transmitting
power. there are also commercial
losses; which is a nice term
for plain thievery. If we don’t
plug these loopholes, the tariff
adjustment will not be able to
seal the financial hole that eCG
finds itself in,” he added.
It would be recalled that the
eCG last month proposed that
its tariffs be increased by 148%
for 2022 and with 7.6% average
adjustments between the periods
of 2023 to 2026.
the proposed sharp increment,
according to eCG, is due
to the gap between the actual
cost recovery tariff and PUrCapproved
tariffs as well as the
cost of completed projects.
similarly, the Ghana Water
Company also proposed an increment
in its tariffs by over
300% to be able to, at least, recover
its operational cost. the
proposals have generated huge
public discussions, with a majority
of the public kicking
against the request.
the Public Utilities and
regulatory Commission is currently
holding broad consultations
with all stakeholders,
including Members of Parliament,
on the proposals and will
make a final announcement on
the agreed percentage increase
it will allow. It has up to July
2022 to announce the new utility
tariffs.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
MATCHING WAGES
WITH PRODUCTIVITY
IT is that time of the year when employers
and employees are expected to lock horns
on how much pay is optimal to adequately
compensate the worker and also keep an
employer’s business running.
While the government is expected to
open negotiations with public sector
workers, private firms and other institutions
would be meeting their employees for a
consensus on what to do with their wages.
Although an annual ritual, this year’s
salary negotiations comes at a tricky time
for both sides.
It is at a time when inflation has taken its
run to an 18-year high, hitting 23.6 per cent
in April. Experts concur that the increments
would continue into the end of the year,
although they project that the pace of the
jumps might reduce.
High inflation is bad for the economy,
businesses and households. It raises the cost
of living for individuals, erodes the profits
and weakens the productivity of businesses
and ultimately undermines economic
growth and other fiscal indicators.
Inflation is also an avenue for employees
to demand higher pay to compensate for a
dimishing disposable income.
Already, workers have said that the
soaring inflation was eating away their
salaries and employers must respond with
immediate pay increases that were
commensurate with the pace at which
prices had risen.
They have said that salary increases
must be the same or higher than the current
inflation rate of 23.6 to avoid entrenching
what they termed “cost of living crisis facing
labour.” (see story on page 17)
The Secretary General of the Trades
Union Congress Union (TUC), Dr Anthony
Yaw Baah, told the Graphic Business last
month that optimal increments in salaries
were needed to make up for the price jumps
and curb the imminent poverty that this
development was pushing workers into.
Dr Baah, a labour economist, added that
public workers had endured enough in the
past under the guise of helping to rebuild
the economy and could no longer take
lower pay rises, with inflation now at an 18-
year high.
He stated that the union would be
approaching this year’s salary negotiation
with higher expectations, warning that any
attempts to raise pay by a lower rate would
not be entertained.
While the Graphic Business appreciates
the predicament of workers, we call for cool
heads even before the negotiations begin.
Agriculture deserves
more attention
By OSCAR UGOH
tHere is the urgent
need to take
concrete action to
support increased
productivity and
consequent production levels in
Ghana’s agricultural sector.
Agriculture has always been
recognized as crucial to Ghana’s
economic wellbeing although
public spending on improving
productivity and output in the
sector has always been grossly
insufficient.
Increased agricultural
activity can generate direly
needed jobs all around the country
and especially in rural Ghana which
needs them the most. It can create
wealth and alleviate poverty
nationwide as well.
In addition to this is its crucial
roles, both in import substitution
which can drastically lower Ghana’s
inordinate food import bill, and in the
provision of industrial inputs for the
manufacturing sector.
Agricultural output
Currently, though, increased
agricultural output is becoming even
more crucial than ever before for
several reasons.
Chief among them is that new
trade treaties with both the european
Union and the rest of Africa – the
latter through the African Free trade
Agreement which is now
commencing – means that tariffs on
food imports will be lower than ever
before and if we are not careful, we
will replace much of the food we now
produce locally, with imported
substitutes, which would cost us
employment and foreign exchange,
both of which are already in direly
short supply.
Another is that most of the over
200 manufacturing facilities being
developed under the government’s
one district, one factory flagship
initiative are agro processing facilities
and they will need huge amounts of
agricultural produce of various types
as industrial inputs.
thus the need to modernize
Ghana’s agriculture using improved
seed, all year round irrigation fed
farming and technology for the
impartation of crucial information
and knowledge has become more
urgent than ever before.
But all of these require financing
but simply put, Ghana’s agricultural
sector is not getting its fair share.
Policy initiatives
several public policy initiatives
are needed to change this situation.
one requires direct financing from
government itself. Past experience
however has shown us that
government’s direct financing of
“Government
is now
implementing
its industrial
subcontracting
exchange.
agriculture does not produce
commensurate results because loans
tend to be granted on basis of political
patronage rather than identified
capacity to use such financing
optimally.
related to this, many borrowers
simply refuse to repay such loans
because they regard them as public
monies to which they have a right to
get a share.
to get around this government
should promote and facilitate
communal agricultural co-operatives,
comprising groups of farmers. this
way, the likelihood of political
patronage aimed at individuals would
be greatly reduced, since a cooperative
usually comprises
individuals from diverse backgrounds
and political affiliations.
Furthermore, experience has
shown us that individuals who are
part of a group loan tend to meet their
repayment obligations because of peer
pressure and a desire to remain part of
the group.
Government’s fiscal space is still
tight so most of the requisite
financing will have to be sourced from
the private sector.
Attracting investors
to attract investors capital and
commercial lending, two things need
to be in place.
one is
identified
demand for the
farm produce.
Anyone putting
money into the
production of
any goods, wants
to be confident
that the goods
will be sold. In
the case of
agriculture this
consideration is
more important
than ever
because the
produce is
largely
perishable and
there is a severe shortfall of storage
space.
Industrial demand for
agricultural produce can guarantee a
large enough proportion of sales to
assure financiers and investors.
An example is the production of
sorghum, primarily in northern
Ghana, for Guinness Ghana Breweries,
an arrangement which enables the
state owned Venture Capital trust
Fund to finance the farmers involved
every year on a revolving basis.
We need to identify as many such
agricultural produce supply
arrangements as possible and sign
them up.
Government is now
implementing its industrial subcontracting
exchange. Facilitating
produce supply arrangements
between industry and farmers should
be made a key part of its mandate.
the other thing needed is a safety
net in case something goes wrong.
Agriculture has a natural
disadvantage in that it is the most
exposed of all sectors to the vagaries of
nature. Financiers need to be sure that
crop failures and the likes ill not wipe
their investments away.
this is where agriculture
insurance is vital. It is already being
offered on a limited basis by a pool of
local insurance companies in
collaboration with the German
development assistance agency, GIZ.
Importantly, it is a major part of
the impending new Insurance Law
which will enable its availability
nationwide. Government needs to
make every effort to facilitate and
accelerate this process.
the running theme here is to
ensure that the agricultural sector can
play its central role in a value chain
that works efficiently for a wide
number of stakeholders. only then
can it get the finance requisite to
support capacity that we know we
have with regards to agricultural
production.
Oscar Ugoh is a publisher and
public policy consultant

Thursday, June 9, 2022
Five cases of monkeypox
recorded in Ghana
tHe Director-General
of the Ghana
Health service
(GHs), Dr. Patrick
Kuma-Aboagye, has
revealed that five cases of
monkeypox have been reported
in the eastern, Western,
and Greater Accra regions.
Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye
made this revelation at a press
briefing today, Wednesday,
June 8, 2022.
this announcement comes
after the Ghana Health service
(GHs) earlier debunked claims
of monkeypox detection in the
country.
In the latest development,
the Ghana Health service says
it has recorded five cases of
monkeypox out of the 12 suspected
cases.
According to Dr. Patrick
Kuma-Aboagye, no death has
occurred in the reported cases.
“so far since the outbreak
in europe occurred, we tested
12 suspected cases in Ghana
since 24 May. Currently, we
have confirmed five cases in
three regions – eastern, Western,
and Greater Accra – this is
where we discovered the five
cases, no death has occurred
among the cases here,” he said.
“one of the cases has been
recorded in a Ghanaian who
traveled to the Us from Ghana,
he might have picked it from
here,” Dr. Patrick Kuma-
Aboagye told pressmen.
there are now about 237
confirmed and suspected cases
of monkeypox worldwide.
the Un Health agency has
announced plans to contain
the monkeypox virus.
Economic activity continues to pick up,
but consumer spending mixed — BoG
DoMestIC economic activity continued
to pick up in the first four
months, the latest Monetary Policy
report by the Bank of Ghana has revealed.
the latest high frequency indicators,
according to the Bank of Ghana,
recorded broad-based improvement
in key real sector indicators in
March 2022 compared to a year ago.
Domestic VAt collections, private
sector contributions to social security,
industrial consumption of electricity
and tourist arrivals all
improved in the review period.
Domestic VAt collections increased
by 21.5% on a year-on-year
basis to GH¢649.93 million, from
GH¢534.80 million.
on a month-on-month basis, domestic
VAt improved by 10.8 percent
in March 2022 from GH¢586.65 million
in the preceding month.
Cumulatively, total domestic VAt
for the first quarter of 2022 went up
by 14.7% to GH¢1.808 billion, compared
with GH¢1.576 billion for the
corresponding period of last year.
the relative improvement in domestic
VAt collections largely reflected
increased household consumption
during the review period,
retail sales, on the other hand,
dipped marginally by 2.9% (year-onyear)
to GH¢114.05 million in March
2022, down from the GH¢117.46 million
recorded in the same period in
2021.
Compared to February 2022, retail
sales declined by 5.6%.
Cement sales and port activity,
also contracted in the review period.
Consumer spending, proxied by
domestic VAt collections and retail
sales, posted a mixed performance in
March 2022, compared with the corresponding
period in 2021.
“Cumulatively, total domestic
VAT for the first quarter of 2022
went up by 14.7% to GH¢1.808
billion, compared with GH¢1.576
billion for the corresponding
period of last year.
Chamber of
Mines elects
new president,
executives
• Continued from page 3
technical team to define guidelines for bulk
customers and tariff setting
He was formerly the Chairperson of the
energy and technical Committees of the
Ghana Chamber of Mines.
He holds an MBA, Henley Management
College, UK; Msc Mining engineering, University
of Mines and technology; Bsc (Hons)
Mechanical engineering, Kwame nkrumah
University of science and technology; executive
Leadership Programmes at Denver University
- UsA, Imperial College - UK and Wits
University - south Africa; Chartered Management
Accountant, CIMA CGMA; Member of
Ghana Institution of engineering.
ProFILe oF GeorGe KorsI nUtor
George Korsi nutor, 1st Vice President
George Korsi nutor is the Vice President
and General Manager of Chirano Gold Mines
Ltd.
He is the first Ghanaian to head Chirano,
bringing with him over 20 years of gold mining
and processing experience and an impressive
record of accomplishment from
within Ghana and globally.
Before joining Chirano, George was the
Process Director, nordgold sA,
Bissa/somita/sMD Lefa Gold Mine. George has
also spent a considerable time of his career
with Gold Fields Ghana Limited, tarkwa Gold
Mine, rising from Production superintended
to Metallurgical manager over a period of 11
years.
He holds a Diploma in Mineral engineering,
Msc in Mineral engineering, the Mine
Manager´s Certificate of Competency from
the Ghana Minerals Commission and is a
Member of the society for Mining, Metallurgy
& exploration Inc.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
60 Business ideas & Investment
Opportunities in Ghana
Part one
By Ajaero Tony Martins
Do you want to start a business
in Ghana but you lack ideas? If
Yes, here is the first part of a
two part series listing 60 small
business ideas and investment
opportunities in Ghana.
With a strong
mineral resources
sector, cocoa
industry, consistent
government policy,
recent oil discoveries, steady power
supply, friendly business environment
and a free trade zone for foreign
companies; Ghana is definitely a
country to beat in the future. so, if you
are looking for a business opportunity to
start in Ghana, here are 50 best business
opportunities you can choose from.
50 Best Business ideas
and Investment
opportunities in Ghana
(1). Car Dealership Business
one thriving business that an
aspiring entrepreneur or investor can
start in Ghana is car dealership.
operators in the car dealership industry
sell and buy both brand new and used
cars and they may fall in any of the
following niche area; brick and mortar
car dealership, online used cars
dealership, locally produced car
dealership, imported car dealership,
luxury car dealership business and
multi – brand and multi – maker car
dealership.
the automotive industry in Ghana with
reference to used cars dealership is indeed
flourishing because more and more consumers
are becoming aware of the need to cut
unnecessary spending as it relates to
purchasing cars.
2. open a Bar and Grill Business
opening a bar and grill business can be
fascinating at the same time worthwhile
especially if you position your bar and grill
business in strategic locations where you can
easily attract socialites and people who love
night life.
the fact that in Ghana people will always
hangout in bars makes it one of those
businesses that is in high demand and it is also
profitable. Bar and grill business is one of the
businesses that an entrepreneur can
successfully start in the corner of a busy street
without breaking the bank for cash.
3. open a Beauty
supply/Cosmetics store
there are avalanches of beauty products
that are seen on the shelves in stores all around
Ghana. these products have various uses and
they meet the requirements of folks in different
ways. It is important to point out that beauty
supply business is one the businesses that can’t
go out of fashion simply because of the role it
plays in the society.
Depending on the scale you want to start,
the startup capital for this type of business can
be considered to be moderate.
4. start a Boarding school
If you live in Ghana you will quite agree
that it is indeed brisk business running a
boarding school. Parents who are pretty busy
would always take their children to boarding
schools where they can learn and live
throughout the school session.
However setting up a boarding school
requires hard work and serious planning. You
are expected to apply and obtain permits and
licenses to run such facility from the
government, and your facility must meet the
required health and safety standards before you
can be allowed to operate.
5. start the Production
of Bottled Water
Another thriving business that an aspiring
entrepreneur can start in Ghana is the
production of bottled water. Production
companies in the bottled water industry
basically purify and bottle water into plastic
and glass bottles for consumption.
the bottled waters are properly capped and
labeled before being sold to the general public.
needless to say, there are readily
available markets for bottled water in
Ghana because every human on the face of
the earth need to drink clean water to survive.
the bottom line is that economic recession
hardly affects the rate of consumption of
bottled water.
6. start a Bridal Makeup Business
this type of business is not capital
intensive and you can start the business from
your savings. If you are hardworking and you
have the right network in place, you can
generate your start-up capital from one
business deal.
one good thing about the bridal makeup
business is that most often than not, weddings
are held during weekends and if you are lucky
not to be working during weekends, you can
successfully test run a bridal makeup business.
As a matter of fact, you can combine your bridal
makeup business with any other business
without over working yourself.
7. open a Bureau De Change shop
As a Ghanaian or someone who lives in
Ghana, if you want to engage in international
trade cum business, you need to obtain the
required currency. this goes to show that
bureau de change business in Ghana is a viable
business that an aspiring entrepreneur who
looking towards starting a business can
successfully start.
8. start a Call Center Business
Call center business is one of many
businesses that in recent time is not location
bound; a call center can be located in Ghana or
nigeria and work for clients in the United
Kingdom or the United states of America. this
is as a result of outsourcing services such as
telemarketing and customers care services.
9. open a Car Accessories store
Although you don’t need a college degree to
establish your own car accessories and auto
spare parts store, you need some form of
informal training. You might have to work as
an apprentice with someone who owns a car
accessories and auto spare parts store.
It makes it easier for you to learn the ropes
and how to manage your own business. It is
important to point out that car accessories and
auto spare parts store business is one the
businesses that can’t go out of fashion simply
because of the role it plays in the auto industry.
10. start a Cattle Farming
Business
Cattle farming is perhaps one of the most
lucrative animal farming businesses an
entrepreneur can start, but that does not rule
out the fact that it can sometimes be
challenging especially if you don’t live around a
farm community where you can easily build
your cattle ranch. Cattle rearing is of course a
thriving and profitable business because of the
usefulness of beef and other by products from
cattle.
11. start a Commercial Cleaning
Company
Any entrepreneur who desires to start a
business in Ghana can successfully start a
commercial cleaning business and generate
good returns from the business with a short
period of time.
this is because the commercial cleaning
industry is a thriving industry in Ghana. this
type of business can be started by anybody as
long as you have eyes for details and
cleanliness. If you have experience in this
regard, it will be easier for you to start and
effectively run a cleaning business.
12. start Coffee exporting
Business
.If you are considering starting a coffee
export business in Ghana, the good news is that
you can’t get it wrong because the Ghanaian
government is supporting the export of cash
crops from Ghana to other countries of the
• Ajaero Tony Martins
Founder / Publisher at Profitable
Venture Magazine Ltd
world, plus the fact that coffee is consumed by
people all across the world and there are several
outlets that are willing to purchase coffee from
you if you have good coffee.
13. open a Consignment shop
A Consignment shop is a shop where fairly
used goods are sold. It could be clothes, shoes
and other fashion accessories, sport wares,
automobiles, electronics, furniture, toys, books,
tools, musical instrument, office equipment,
machines, etc.
You can start this business without money
“One good thing
about the bridal
makeup business is
that most often than
not, weddings are
held during
weekends and if you
are lucky not to be
working during
weekends, you can
successfully test run
a bridal makeup
business.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
because you would only be required to
collect goods from people who are cleaning
and clearing their wardrobes, houses, offices
or garages at no cost at all. In other words,
you would be automatically helping them
get rid of the items they do not want and in
turn make your profit.
15. start a Construction
Company
starting a construction business is
capital intensive simply because of the type
of heavy-duty equipment that are required
to carry out a construction project and also
the cost of managing a large workforce.
Despite the fact that the construction
industry requires huge startup capital, the
industry is highly profitable especially if you
have the expertise and capacity to deliver
good quality the jobs.
16. start a Cyber security
Company
In Ghana, cyber crime is on the increase
hence starting a cyber security business is
therefore a lucrative business to go into
because individuals, businesses and the
government need their data protected.
However, to start this kind of business,
you will need to have the technical skills
that will be needed to secure data or stop an
ongoing attack for your client. However, due
to the technical nature of this business and
the need to understand what you will be
getting into from the business aspect, it
would be wise to consult with a business
consultant in the area where you intend
starting the business.
17. open a Fabric store
entrepreneurs who intend starting a
fabric store business can as a matter of fact
start from their car or garage.
the bottom line is that there is always a
ready market for fabrics. All a fabric retail
store needs to do is to ensure that they have
quality fabrics both locally and from
different parts of the world, and also ensure
that their fabric store is well positioned.
18. open a Fast Food restaurant
If you are interested in the food
industry, one of the coolest ways of making
money is to open a fast food restaurant in
Ghana.
It is important to state that loads of fast
food restaurants close shop because they
failed to conduct detailed market survey and
feasibility studies before opening. Your
ability to re – strategized and always up your
service delivery will help you stay
competitive.
19. start a Feed Mill Business
Poultry mills is a production facility
where different poultry mashes are
produced like layers mash, pre-layers mash,
growers mash, broilers starter and finisher
et al.
this a business that is open to an
aspiring entrepreneur especially those that
live around farm communities. All you need
to get started is a well – positioned and
government approved facility, steady supply
of grains and of course, the in and out of
running the business. It is important to
point out that poultry feed mill business is
one the businesses that can’t go out of
fashion simply because of the role it plays in
the poultry industry.
20. start a Fish Farming
Business
Fish farming is perhaps one of the most
“
Beyond the
generally
knowledge of
fish farming,
you would need
to study the
process of
farming fish if
you want to
become
successful with
the business.
lucrative aquatic farming businesses an
entrepreneur can start in Ghana, but that
does not rule out the fact that it can
sometimes be challenging especially if you
don’t live around coastal areas where you
can conveniently create a demarcation for
breeding your fish in commercial quantity.
Beyond the generally knowledge of fish
farming, you would need to study the
process of farming fish if you want to
become successful with the business. In
order to maximize profits with your fish
farming business, you need to learn the
process of hatching fish eggs and then
groom them to maturity when they will be
due for harvest.
21. open a Frozen Food shop
A frozen food store is a very easy
business to start and it is not so capital
intensive. Getting the right products that
people want to buy and good record keeping
are the secrets of running a frozen food
store. A frozen food store can be run offline
in the conventional retail store or online on
an online e-commerce retail site.
22. start Groundnut oil
Production Plant
Actually, starting a groundnut oil
production company is not one of those
businesses that can be started without
proper research and study of the industry.
Groundnut oil production company can be
considered to be capital intensive, but it is
indeed a money – spinning business if it is
well located and if you are able to create a
robust distribution network.
23. open Hair extension
Production Factory
It is a known fact that hair extensions
and similar products are used in all parts of
Ghana and of course those that are in the
business of producing these products, are
known to generate sales year in year out if
the business is well – managed.
As a matter of fact, economic downturn
hardly affects the usage of hair extensions
and similar products simply because it is a
commodity that plays a major role in the
beauty world. this is no wonder the
production of hair extensions et al have
continued to soar high.
24. start Hotel Business
starting a hotel business is capital
intensive and it is considered a long-term
investment because it takes a while for the
owners to breakeven and start making
profits. no doubt it takes a big-time investor
to consider starting his or her own hotel
business, which is why loads of hotels are
owned by groups of investors.
one good thing about the hotel business
is that the business can grow so big that it
will not only have active presence in key
cities in the country where it started from,
but in major cities in all the continent of the
world.
When people lodge in hotels, they have
the options of subscribing to other services
the hotel offers.
soap, Washing Powder and synthetic
Detergent Manufacturing Company
starting this type of business means
that you will be involved in the
manufacturing of products such as laundry
soap, transparent soap, translucent soap,
toilet soap, medicated soap, industrial soap,
soap flakes, soap powder and synthetic
products.
synthetic products include household
and industrial detergents used for cloth
washing, dish washing, body and hair
washing, etc. the fact that laundry
detergents are used in all homes and
laundromats makes the product an
essential household commodity. Any
entrepreneur who intends to go into this
business should plan rightly and research
thoroughly so that the risks in the business
can be greatly minimized.
25. Freight Packing and
Logistics services Business
A freight packing and logistics services
business is a business that provide
consolidation of freight consignments, trade
document preparation, packing, crating and
otherwise preparing goods for
transportation and logistics consulting
services. With this type of business, you can
choose to operate from any part of the
country as long as there are businesses and
people who will patronize your services.
the truth is that a freight packing and
logistics services business is a
profitable business in Ghana, even though it
is capital intensive. Getting the right
medium (motor cycles, drones and delivery
vans and trucks et al) and good tracking
devices are some of the secrets of running a
successful freight packing and logistics
services business.
26. open a Medical
Clinic/Hospital
Medical clinic or hospital provide
surgical and nonsurgical diagnostic and
medical treatment to inpatients with
medical conditions.
In general, hospitals maintain inpatient
beds and usually provide other services such
as outpatient services, operating room
services and pharmacy services. there is
indeed a very large market for hospital
(healthcare service) providers in Ghana.
27. start a Metal Door
Production Company
A metal door production business is of
course one of the many businesses that can
be started in any part of Ghana and the
owner of the business can still penetrate the
global market by simply exporting his or her
products. Metal doors are basically doors
made from metal materials and in some
cases, these doors are bullet – proof and are
used in situations where security is of top
priority. It is a known fact that the
production of metal doors has continued to
soar high.
28. start Micro Money
Lending Business
If you live in Ghana, you will agree that
loads of entrepreneurs are making money
from offering small loans to individuals
who cannot access loans from banks.
starting a micro money lending business
can be demanding and risky at the same
time, but if you have done your due
diligence before venturing into the business,
you are likely not going to run at a loss.
First and foremost, you are expected to
have experience in the financial industry. It
will pay you to study accountancy or
banking and finance if indeed you want to
venture into this line of business.
29. open a naturopathy
Clinic
If you are interested in starting a
business in the alternative medical practice
in Ghana, then you should consider opening
your own naturopathy clinic business.
Generally, naturopathy which is a
complimentary medical practice that uses
natural remedies to help the body heal itself.
It embraces many therapies, including
herbs, massage, acupuncture, exercise, and
nutritional counseling. this includes
therapies from the sciences of clinical
nutrition, botanical medicines, homeopathy,
physical medicine, exercise therapy, lifestyle
counseling, and hydrotherapy, which is the
use of water to treat a disorder or disease.
30. start a network Marketing
Business
there is no limit to the fortune you can
make from this activity as long as you are
creative and have good marketing and
networking skills.
If you live in Ghana, you will agree that
loads of entrepreneurs and freelance
marketers are making good money from
selling the products of a company or their
own product via network marketing or
multi – level marketing as it is popularly
called. starting a network marketing
business can be demanding and risky at the
same time, but if you have done your due
diligence before venturing into the business,
you are likely not going to run at a loss.
TO BE CONTINUED
...............................................
Ajaero Tony Martins is an Entrepreneur,
Real Estate Developer and Investor;
with a passion for sharing his
knowledge with budding entrepreneurs.
He is the Executive Producer
@JanellaTV and also doubles as the
CEO, POJAS Properties Ltd.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
BaNkINg
Value creation must be ultimate
object of digitisation in banking
It is evident globally, that
technology has in many ways
altered how people interact with
their environments. Largely, the
way we shop and make
payments have been influenced by
digitisation.
Undoubtedly, financial
intermediaries like banks have seen the
most transformation in the wake of
technological advancement and
digitisation. this radical and dynamic
change being experienced generally is
believed to have been solely driven by
the convergence of digital innovation
and rising consumer expectations.
over a decade ago, when I entered the
banking sector, smartphones were still
evolving, and the means of interaction was
predominantly brick-and-mortar.
Concurrently, the automated teller
machines (AtMs) served as the most
common electronic medium of interaction
between banks and their customers.
technology, back then, was largely a backoffice
tool with relatively little front-end
presence.
However, a new range of technologies
today are underpinning the digital drive,
and have become a topmost priority for all
financial institutions, simply because, the
relationship between them and their
customers has become far less physical and
more automated.
Greater automation is transforming
customer experience, offering new levels of
speed and slickness. Invariably, the sector
will continue to undergo transformation as
long as technology continues to evolve.
the evolution we have witnessed so far,
has significantly facilitated the
development of a business model themed
“banking-as-a-service”, a vehicle for driving
more value-added digital solutions centered
around the lifestyle of the modern
consumer. Undeniably, the last decade has
also witnessed the emergence of business
vehicles, such as Mobile Money Issuers
(MMIs) and the financial technologies
providers (Fintechs) that have disrupted the
traditional financial service ecosystem.
Undoubtedly, their presence has among
others fueled the drive for financial
inclusion globally, with Ghana not being left
out. this has also led to the redefinition of
who a bank’s competitor is. the upgraded
banking model, sometimes referred to as
Banking 2.0 is inevitably the way to go as we
journey into the future. this drive that we
have been on for some time now is
envisaged to be riding on seamless digital
infrastructure as the means of delivering
excellent services to customers.
Digital banking
Clearly, the emergence of digital banking
has created a ripe environment for meeting
the expectations of the customer. More than
Clearly, digitisation has led to the
development of new concepts, new
business models and in some cases,
redefinition of sectorial boundaries, like
in banking.
A rejuvenated sector where
consumers have the audacity to demand
more convenience based on their
volatile preferences. the utmost service
demands have transitioned from
internet banking, cards and now open
banking, tokenisation, digital currencies,
contactless and even to concepts such as
internet-of-things (Iot), artificial
intelligence, wearables, instincts.
ever, the average customer is continuously
equipped with the right knowledge and
tools to facilitate access to services without
any human intervention.
truly, the customer is dictating the pace
and the banks are expected to appreciate the
immediacy of the needs, and importantly
respond appropriately – often before they
even realise they need them. It is believed
that the introduction of artificial
intelligence tools would lead to effective
decision making on how to better meet the
growing needs of customers, whilst aiding
the process of personalizing solutions
according to the demands.
Additionally, the latest digital dimension
is the regularization and regulation of the
use of cryptocurrencies which seems to be
gaining ground across the globe.
the beauty of this emerging solution
within the ecosystem is that, it is not driven
by a single entity, but by the convergence of
various services in the interest of the
customer. this convergence of services is
perceived by some experts as
being at the maturing point of
the digital ecosystem. this is
considered as the lead to several
initiatives at the bank level,
industry, regulatory, national
and even region levels geared
toward the development of a
true digital ecosystem.
In a rapidly changing world,
however, one thing that remains
constant throughout the
changing scenes of technology
is continuous delivery of utmost
services to customers. In any
case, the purpose and ultimate
object of every technological
and digitisation pursuit in
banking must aim to create
value for customers and clients.
Admittedly, the biggest
challenge of every entity is
translating digital into
meaningful value for customers.
this should therefore be on topof-the-minds
of all digital
transformers, and of course
financial intermediaries. that is
what we must seek to achieve, because that
is how we will know we have succeeded.
Certainly, it is truly the expectation of a
modern stakeholder like the customer.
In view of that, we must continuously
strive towards understanding the needs of
customers and businesses better – a 360-
degree view of the present and every
changing lifestyle. Furthermore, we must
seek to extend varied and more interactive
services to the customer.
In addition, a deeper segmentation of
the portfolio and not relegating to a single
point of service delivery are key parts of
value creation.
these would essentially lead to the
deployment of personalized offerings.
sustained value creation is therefore
undeniably the catalyst for retaining and
attracting customers, and notably an avenue
for rewarding all stakeholders. evidently,
this is what is rooted in the transformation
agenda of the Prudential Bank.
Prudential Bank journey
At Prudential Bank, we continue to work
towards remaining trustworthy and credible
to our loyal customers. the bank
continuously works towards striking the
balance by ensuring that both our
technology and human capital are
optimized at all times. our investments over
the years have focused on both technology
and our human capital. While investing in
technology, we also invest in human beings
to build their capacity to be able to manage
the technological tools. the Bank is at a
threshold with a service assurance promise
of delivering an end-to-end e-relationship
with our customers. We have adopted a
digital-first mindset to attract and retain
new customers, and also to leverage on our
digital assets to increase the banks deposit
and loan portfolios.
With over 25 years of banking
experience behind us, our understanding of
“Greater
automation is
transforming
customer
experience,
offering new levels
of speed and
slickness.
Invariably, the
sector will
continue to
undergo
transformation as
long as technology
continues to
evolve.
the needs of Ghanaians has earned us their
trust and confidence. For us also, digitization
is about leveraging technology and
innovative tools to improve the efficiency
and efficacy of a given process. Marrying
these two makes Prudential Bank the bank
of choice now and in the future for every
Ghanaian.

Thursday, Tuesday, June March 9, 2022 1, 2022
MININg
Ghana’s new mining sector
local content regulations
tHe Minerals Commission
(MinCom), in consultation
with civil society
organizations led by the
natural resource Governance
Institute has come up with a draft
legislative instrument on local content
in Ghana’s mining industry, which is to
replace LI 2173. In order to reveal the
resultant business opportunities for
local enterprises and Ghanaian
professionals, the BUsIness AnALYst
presents MinCom’s impending
legislation and the rationale behind it.
While local content and local
participation has been promoted in
Consequently, the Minerals
Commission, in its role as the mining
industry’s regulator, and in consultative
collaboration with private sector
stakeholders, has drawn up the content for
a new Legislative Instrument governing
local content and participation to replace
the original LI 2173.
It is now ready to be put before cabinet
for approval and then Parliament for
deliberations and ultimate passage into
law.
objectives of the Current
regulations:
the regulations seek to ensure that
• Creation of employment: Ghanaians
are employed and trained to take over from
expatriate staff in the mining industry and
to become part of highest decision makers.
• Promote growth of domestic
manufacturing: Local industries have
similar opportunities as global businesses to
participate in various procurement processes
Key objectives of the Draft new
regulations:
the draft regulations seek to ensure
• Promotion of Job Creation: through use
of local expertise, good & services, businesses
and financing in the mining industry value
chain.
• Increased Capacity & Competitiveness:
Increase capability & international
competitiveness of local businesses
• enhance gender equality in the mining
industry value chain with at least 30%
women participation across the mining
value chain.
new Considerations –
employment & training
of Ghanaians
• Localisation plans of mining businesses
must show proof of gender responsive
recruitment – reg. 3(7)(c) and reg. 10(2)
• expatriate threshold for mining lease
holders after 3 years of commencement of
Ghana’s emergent upstream oil and gas
industry right from the start, the
country’s much older mining industry
has been run without deliberate state
policy aimed at ensuring local content
and participation until just a few years
ago. Legislation towards this was passed
in 2014 and has been in effect since
then.
A number of shortcomings in the
legislation have been identified since
then, even as new government
objectives – most notably affirmative
action towards participation in
economic activity by women – need to
be incorporated.
operations which is currently 6% will be
reduced to 5%. – reg. 3(9)
• Applicants applying for immigrant
quota must first – reg. 3(21) advertise for
particular job for which no Ghanaian is
deemed suitable or recruit from a database
that shall be established by the Commission
• expatriates shall not be
considered for the following specific
roles: - reg. 3(22)
a) General Mines Manager (after 3
years of commencement)
b) Mine Manager
c) Human resource and related
roles
d) Finance and Accounting and
related roles
e) Communication, Community
relations or sustainability and
related roles
f) Legal and Compliance and related
roles
g) Corporate Affairs and related roles
h) All roles below the grade of
supervisor
new Considerations –
Procurement of Local Products
• Current Fixed Margin of preference of
2% will be replaced with variable margin of
preference of 2.5% - 10.0%. - reg. 4(13).
• Development of guidelines for training,
research and skills development in
consultation with mining industry,
universities, research, technical and
vocational training institutions. – reg. 5
• Mining lease holders shall submit plans
based on the guidelines and provide budget
to the Commission for the promotion of
education, practical attachments, training &
research and skills development. – reg. 5(2)
• engineering services shall be rendered
by Ghanaian registered companies registered
with relevant regulatory bodies and the
Minerals Commission. – reg. 6(1)
• Foreign
engineering
consultants, firms or
companies shall
only be engaged
when the required
services are
rendered in
collaboration with
Ghanaian
engineering
services. – reg. 6(2)
• Mining
businesses shall
procure insurance
services from only
companies licensed
by the national
Insurance
Commission. – reg.
7(1)
• no insurance
in the mining
industry shall be
placed offshore without written approval of
national Insurance Commission which shall
ensure Ghanaian local capacity has been
fully exhausted. – reg. 7(2)
• Mining businesses shall only engage
the services of lawyers, certified accountants
or any such firm or company that are
licensed to practice or work in Ghana. – reg.
8(1)
• Foreign firms/companies/consultants
for legal or accounting services shall only be
engaged when the required services are
rendered in collaboration with individuals or
firms licensed to practice in Ghana. - reg. 8(2)
• Mining businesses shall retain only the
services of financial institutions
incorporated in Ghana. – reg. 9(1)
• Mining businesses shall ensure that at
least 20% of financial transactions are
undertaken with financial institutions
owned by citizens. – reg. 9(2)
• Minister on the recommendations of
the Commission and in consultation with
securities and exchange Commission shall
prescribe the limits of local equity of capital
expenditure for listing on the Ghana stock
exchange. – reg. 9(3)
• Mining lease holder whose planned
capital expenditure exceeds the prescribed
“Creation of
employment:
Ghanaians are
employed and
trained to take over
from expatriate
staff in the mining
industry and to
become part of
highest decision
makers.
limits shall list at least 20% of its equity on
Gse within 5 years after commencement of
mining operations. - reg. 9(4)
the following services have been
reserved for citizens of Ghana: - reg. 10
(1)
a) Catering & Camp Management
services
b) Haulage services to and from mine
sites including transportation of
personnel
c) security services
d) Contract mining services for smallscale
mining operations
e) supply of fuel
the following services have been reserved
for citizens in mining localities (ie host
communities) whose services are not
financed by expatriates and who does not
engage /employ expatriates: - reg. 10 (3)
a) supply of stationery, printing of name
tags;
b) supply of provisions including
toiletries;
c) Provision of weeding, grassing,
reshaping/ cutting/trimming of hedges,
mowing & fencing services
d) Provision of cleaning, painting and
disinfection/ fumigation services
e) Provision of rubbish collection,
emptying of sewages and other sanitary
services
f) Physical training, Gym training and
swimming Instructors
g) Provision of local security/local
patrol/neighbourhood watch services by
local opinion leaders
h) Provision of local health education
services
i) Provision of minor maintenance
services including plumbing, electrical
fittings

Thursday, June 9, 2022
ENTErprENEUrShIp
How to overcome startups
obstacles in Ghana
BY DA ABOAGYE
In recent years, Africa is making great
strides to become the launch pad for
high-growth innovative companies.
this is evidenced by the increasing
number of tech startups to have
received financial backing, which grew by
46% annually. this is six times faster than the
global average, according to Partech Partners
(a venture capital firm in the Us).
Unfortunately, Africa has not done well in
sustaining and scaling up startups. even
though startup development has been
progressive, there is only three “unicorns” on
the continent, including nigeria’s fintech
Flutterwave. Unicorns are privately owned
tech companies valued at more than $1
billion. Whereas such unicorns are common
in advance economies; 200 in United states,
100 in China and 50 in europe.
Also, there are less than 20 African
‘zebras” including Ghana’s only JUMo. Zebras
are privately companies with valuation of
more than $200 million.
According to the Boston Consulting
Group (BCG), African startups rarely survive
beyond the series B funding stage and return
on venture capital investment remains weak
at a continental average of 3% compared to
16% and 11% in europe and Asia-Pacific
respectively.
the situation is worse in Ghana, which is
one of the growing economies in Africa.
According to Briter Bridges
(briterbridges.com), there were less than 20
disclosed deals in Ghana valued at $19 million
at close of Q3 2020 whereas the likes of south
Africa and nigeria closed over 70 deals valuing
more than $200 million.
the Ghanaian startup faces various
structural challenges including low consumer
purchasing power, inconsistent and complex
regulations, inadequate infrastructure, and
scarce capital. However startups manages to
surmount these challenges, there is fierce
competition from incumbent companies,
especially from large companies in -toconsumer
sectors, such as retail, financial
services and energy.
Instead of established companies using
their privileged position to advance the
national interest, they often use their market
power to push new entrants with disruptive
business models out of business. such
hostility against startups do not only
threatens competitiveness and kills
innovative technologies, products and
business models, it also deprives job creation
and economic development.
notwithstanding, Ghana remains a very
fertile ground for entrepreneurs. It is
politically stable, fast increasing internet
penetration, fast growing economy in the
Africa, and also part of Africa’s young
population. this presents tremendous
opportunities for innovators to develop
product and services to improve social and
economic development. However, startups
will need to develop new strategies, and
Ghana’s national champions, investors and
governments will need to work together to
tackle the challenges of startups.
scaling up through Corporate
Partnerships
Large companies have demonstrated the
ability to overcome structural challenges
affecting business. they have access to capital,
the human expertise to steer complex
regulatory environment, and the ability to
expand into other markets. therefore, rather
than Ghanaian startups competing with
incumbents for consumers, it is advisable to
collaborate with such large entities by
providing innovative business-to-business
solutions to survive and be successful.
on the other hand, large enterprises must
be willing to open up and engage startups as
partners. such partnership model is already
well-established in financial and
geographical technology. For instance tech
companies such as JUMo and Vokacom have
partnered with large corporations and
government respectively to provide data and
addressing services.
With such collaborations, incumbents
can nurture startups by providing direct
investment or partnerships with external
incubators and accelerators. An example of
such collaboration is that of Indonesia
companies Lippo Group, a conglomerate, and
oVo, a leading digital payment service. Lippo
Group provided financial support to oVo in
its early stage. oVo benefited from Lippo’s
ecosystem, which include hypermarkets,
telcos, e-commerce marketplaces, content
streaming, and banks serving small and
medium enterprises. Lippo also got valuable
help from oVo to bring merchants onto its
platforms and provided incentives for
consumers.
Incumbents can also form strategic
alliances with startups to develop new
technologies or
innovative business
models. such
partnership can be
revenue-sharing,
joint-venture, or
technological
alliances between
two or more
companies. JUMo,
the Ghanaian
mobile financial
services is a perfect
example of how
such partnership
can be a win-win
and could enable a
startup grow into a
zebra. JUMo, which
holds creditscoring
algorithm,
collects behavioral
data from willing
customers and
share with telecom
operators.
It then collect
mobile-wallet data
from telcos to
provide credit scores to partner financial
institutions such as ecobank and Letshego to
enable them review loan applications. this
alliance is helping telcos to earn revenue from
data sharing, banks to reached out to
untapped markets and JUMo is gaining
access to wider customers within the
informal sector.
In addition to the above strategies,
established companies can also set up
startups on their own. this enables
companies to overcome internal processes
and cultures that inhibit innovation.
established companies can set up in-house
incubators or accelerators to attract and
develop new businesses or products. For
instance, In Ghana, companies like Kosmos,
stanbic Bank and ecobank has in-house hubs
setup to invest in local talent and capacity.
such initiatives have benefited the likes of
ecobank to come up with various Fintech
Products to enhance services delivery and
revenue generation.
support from Governments and Investors
Governments and investors are important
players to improve startup development and
growth in Ghana. For instance large
companies can help new businesses to scale
up through strategic alliances. Financial
incentive from government, such as tax
reliefs, cash grants, is a good initiative to
entice investors and large companies to
support the growth of new ventures.
Ghana, through government initiatives,
has established innovation hubs such as the
Accra Digital Centre to drive digital
innovation in Ghana. However, to further
improve the development of the startup
ecosystem, there is the need for government
to collaborate with development institutions
such as the African Development Bank to
develop bigger innovation hubs to enable
partnership between larger companies and
new venture and attracts and investments.
For instance, the African Development Bank
and rwanda have invested $400 million to
develop the Kigali Innovation City on a 70-
hectare land size.
Government also needs to support or
direct state agencies such as the national
entrepreneurship and Innovation
Programme and the Ghana enterprise Agency
to educate and build the capacity of
entrepreneurs on initiative and programmes
happening within the West African region
and Africa. such as the AfCFtA and the
implementation of a comprehensive legal and
regulatory framework for private equity and
venture capital fund being developed by the
West African economic and Monetary Union
and the World Bank.
the government has undertaken
initiatives to advance the development of
startups in Ghana. However, more needs to be
done by the public and private sector to
release the wave of innovation to create jobs
and improve economic opportunities in
Ghana.
**Credit to Boston Consulting group**
WrIter
The writer is a Chartered accountant
(ICag) and an MBa holder from the University
of Warwick Business School in the United
kingdom. a Staff of ghana Export Import
Bank and a freelance entrepreneurship trainer.
I have been assisting businesses to develop
proposals to raise funding and improve their
financial management. My research interest
include entrepreneurship and small business
development. I can further be reached on the
mobile number 050 8887688 or email at
daaboagye@gmail.com.

COMMErCE
Thursday, June 9, 2022 PAGE 11
Ghanaian businesses use
e-commerce to penetrate
Africa’s single market
Anumber Ghanaian
companies looking to
develop export markets
by leveraging on the
African Continental
Free trade Agreement will now have
the opportunity to explore the
African marketplace effectively
following the operationalization of a
tool that provides business data and
the new tool is the first ever to offer
online Africa-wide analysis of business-toconsumer
(B2C) marketplaces, detailing the
characteristics of more than 630 e-
commerce marketplaces across the
continent.
the online market tool dubbed: Africa
Market explorer, has been developed by the
International trade Centre (ItC) and the
Amsterdam University of Applied
sciences to explore the e-commerce
marketplace ecosystem in Africa and as
such, addresses the lack of comprehensive
information about marketplaces on the
continent.
there is an increasing need and demand
for markets to be developed and product
orders to be made online through e-
commerce channels as a result of the
analyses of e-commerce
marketplaces all around the
continent.
this is coming at a most
opportune time as Ghanaian
businesses have seen their plans for
customer market expansion across
the continent through AfCFtA
threatened by CoVID 19 related
travel restrictions.
Coronavirus pandemic which is making it
difficult for people to transact business
physically.
Many businesses in Ghana and beyond
are therefore using online commerce to
remain in business and this is expected to
deliver comprehensive benefits to both
counterparties in commerce transactions.
However, the greater challenge facing
African e-commerce firms has always been
getting adequate information to enable such
firms explore the various market
opportunities that abound.
since data and analyses on local
marketplaces are hard to come by or in some
instances are highly incomplete, the ItC
insists that with the operationalization of
the market explorer, African entrepreneurs
in the e-commerce sector will have better
“Many businesses in
Ghana and beyond
are therefore using
online commerce
to remain in
business and this is
expected to deliver
comprehensive
benefits to both
counterparties in
commerce
transactions.
information on how to sell goods online in
regional markets and neighbouring
countries where effective demand exist.
Although e-commerce is growing in
Africa, information for entrepreneurs
remains inadequate. According to the ItC,
the tool aims to build the world’s largest
community of e-commerce entrepreneurs
engaged in the sustainable development of
small businesses online by facilitating
shared learning, innovative solutions,
collaboration and partnerships.
“this comprehensive set of data provides
an important contribution for
understanding how the development of e-
commerce can be supported in Africa”, ItC’s
acting executive Director, Dorothy tembo
noted during the launch of the new tool.
the tool reveals that just one per cent of
Africa’s e-commerce marketplaces are
responsible for 60 per cent of the
marketplace traffic on the whole continent.
only 11 per cent of the marketplaces
websites actually enable financial
transactions which limits the possibilities of
selling internationally.
the African Union Commission has
incorporated an electronic Commerce (ecommerce)
protocol into the pan African
trade agreement. It is now scheduled to be
addressed under the third phase of the
agreement’s rollout.
the acceptance of the e-commerce
protocol came about during the 33rd AU
ordinary session held early this year in
ethiopia. Phase III protocol is expected to
kick-in immediately after conclusion of
Phase II negotiations, which include
competition policy, intellectual property
rights and investment protocol.
Importantly, the executive Council of
the AU has directed the AU Commission to
embark on preparations for the upcoming
negotiations and mobilise resources for
capacity building for African trade
negotiators to be involved in the
negotiations of e-commerce legal
instruments for AfCFtA.
“Member states must critically review
approaches that are being made to them by
bilateral partners to enter into bilateral e-
commerce legal instruments with them in
order to ensure that Africa is able to
negotiate and implement an AfCFtA
protocol on e-commerce such as data and
products being traded under e-commerce.
“this will promote the emergence of
African owned e-commerce platforms at
national, regional and continental levels”,
says an AU report
Initially, the e-commerce was not added
to the protocols for negotiations. But
following a summit convened by the World
economic Forum (WeF) and the
International trade Centre (ItC) last year,
steps were initiated to have e-commerce
protocol incorporated into the agreement.
this follows a release of the African e-
Commerce Agenda – an eight step action
plan - put forward by the WeF and ItC as
they unveiled a roadmap on e-commerce for
African governments to realize its vast
economic potential benefits for the
continent.

Thursday, June 9, 2022
BACK
PAGE
ECG to publish names
of ‘power thieves’
tHe electricity Company of
Ghana Limited (eCG) has
stated that it will soon publish
names of persons who
steal electricity in the country.
According to the eCG, it will conduct
an audit of all meters soon.
As part of this field survey, it noted
that teams of eCG officials will be deployed
to update customer information.
eCG stated that the officials are
going to audit postpaid customers who
have meters but do not receive bills as
well as Prepaid customers who do not
purchase electricity credits.
they will also look out for customers
whose meters are faulty and also, customers
who have bypassed or tampered
with their meters and are therefore not
paying for the full cost of power usage.
Aside from that, the officials will also
check customers who have engaged in
any form of electrical illegality, etc.
the eCG has therefore given customers
a MorAtorIUM of one month,
beginning 7th June to 6th July 2022, to
report to our District/regional offices for
rectification of the above issues.
“Please note that after this moratorium,
customers who are caught stealing
electricity, which is criminal, will be
charged with the offense of stealing in
accordance with the law. their names
shall also be published widely,” eCG
stated.
GSA wants collaboration between
Ghana, Egypt to boost trade ties
tHe Ghana shippers’ Authority (GsA)
has called for a strong collaboration between
Ghana and egypt to help boost
the trade ties between both countries.
“statistics from the GsA indicated
that a total of 1,220 metric tonnes of
commodities were exported from
Ghana to egypt in 2021.
Cocoa products constituted
the largest of the export (834
metric tonnes) followed by
Machinery and other equipment
(192 metric tonnes),
Cocoa Beans (104 metric
tonnes) and General Cargo
(89 metric tonnes).
“It is expected that
greater collaboration would
see exponential growth in
the trade figures in the
coming years,” a release issued
by the GsA on May 31
said.
It said in 2020, Ghana exported
$12.3 million worth
of goods to egypt, adding
that the main products exported
from Ghana to egypt
were Cocoa Paste ($8.07M),
Cocoa Powder ($1.2M), and
Machinery Having Individual
Functions ($811k).
the release said during the last 25
years exports from Ghana to egypt increased
at an annualised rate of 12.6 per
cent, from $633 thousand in 1995 to
$12.3 million in 2020.
“egypt exports to Ghana was
Us$128.59 Million during 2021, according
to the United nations CoMtrADe
database on international trade,” it
added.
Courtesy call
It said the GsA has begun processes
to improve the trade facilitation procedures
between Ghana and egypt for the
mutual benefit of shippers in both
countries.
As a result, the GsA paid a courtesy
call on the Commercial Minister
Plenipotentiary in charge of Ghanaegypt
relations at the embassy of egypt
in Accra, Aly Mohamed Basha, to discuss
areas of interest in terms of trade
facilitation between both countries.
the Head of shipper services and
trade Facilitation of the GsA, Monica
Josiah, briefed him on the efforts by the
GsA to improve trade relations
between the two
countries and also sensitised
him to the GsA’s
mandate.
she called on industry
players of Africa to come
up with a liner vessel to
serve the continent as it
would be key to supporting
the ongoing implementation
of the African Continental
Free trade Area
Agreement (AfCFtA).
“We have noticed that
shipping inter-connectivity
within Africa is very
low and that is affecting
the whole continent; currently
if I have to ship
goods to egypt, I may have
to do so through another
country and this is worrying,”
she said.