Ghana SME CEO’s Summit Scheduled For November 20th

The maiden Ghana SME CEO’s summit is scheduled for Monday, November 20, in Accra, under the theme: “Scaling-up SMEs for inclusive growth: The CEO and government as drivers”.

The summit will enable global Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) and local SMEs’ CEOs to integrate and interact with world class experts to foster knowledge acquisition, learning, partnerships and synergies to drive increased personal as well as organisational growth.

It seeks to combine between knowledge and experience by providing preeminent business opportunities to its members from across the globe all from under a single roof.

With a vision to share insightful knowledge and resources to participants and viewers globally, the summit would offer strong business connections through a chain of networks in an attempt to expand businesses beyond borders.

The summit will be opened on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo by Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, the Minister of Business Development.

The special guest of honour at the event will be Mr Alan John Kwadwo Kyerematen, the Minister of Trade and Industry.

The Ghana SME CEO’s Summit is the brainchild of Mr Ernest De-Graft Egyir, the Chief Executive Officer of the Chief Executives Network Ghana Limited.

The event, which is being organised by the Chief Executives Network Ghana Limited, will be a good frontier to create a nurturing environment for professionals and CEOs dedicated to improve the quality and profitability of their enterprises through shared experiences and personal growth strategies.

Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Accra, Mr De-Graft Egyir said the Summit would help move SMEs and their CEOs struggling to be successful to a new growth level and help these business leaders manage to turn their businesses into growth companies with the potential to make a difference to the economy.

He said the theme for the summit was carefully chosen due to the existing gap in the market regarding SMEs which are under-served.

Mr De-Graft Egyir said the current economic growth figures do not translate into jobs and wealth distribution because SMEs were not given the needed attention.

“Ghana’s economic growth (overall real GDP-including oil growth of 6.3 per cent) is a classic case of growth that has failed to be ‘inclusive’, a term to describe economic growth with widest participation and benefits, best ensured through equal opportunities,” he said.

“How can a 6.3 per cent GDP growth rate fail to translate into a commensurate reduction in poverty and up scaling SMEs?” Mr De-Graft Egyir quizzed.

“It all boils down to economic expansion with insufficient job creation due to no up-scaling of the local services and manufacturing sectors.”

He said the summit, which would feature an exhibition of local SMEs, would comprise panel discussions, plenary sessions, open fora and networking sessions to bring the SMEs’ CEOs and government together.

Among the eminent panellists are Mr Kofi Abotsi, Dean Ghana Institute of Public Administration (GIMPA) Law School; Madam Yalanda Cuba, CEO, Vodafone Ghana; Mr Samuel Amanor, CEO, Blue Space Africa; Mr Philip Sowah, CEO, Afriwave Telecom; and Mr Andrew Takyi Appiah, CEO ZeePay.

Source: GNA