Business24 Newspaper 27 July 2022

MSMEs need encouragement to break through the odds -GEA boss

BY EUGENE DAVIS | STORY ON PAGE 3

Gov’t focused on reviving economy – Afenyo-Markin

BY EUGENE DAVIS

| STORY ON PAGE 4

W ED NESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

.COM.GH

NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

FDIs: Ghana rakes in US$2.6bn in 2021, secondhighest in West Africa

Digital inequality is a major threat to Africa’s economic future

| STORY ON PAGE 2

By Sean Riley, CEO of Ad Dynamo by Aleph It’s no secret that Africa suffers from incredibly high levels of economic inequality, with South Africa taking the top spot on a global level. In terms of wealth inequality, seven in ten of the world’s most unequal countries are located in Africa.

Moreover, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, World Bank Country Director for Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Namibia, and South Africa points out that despite many African countries “undertaking some of the most redistributive spending in the world, particularly on education and health, inequality remains extremely high”. This suggests that in order for the continent’s population to thrive economically in the future, it must also address digital inequality.

While many articles have been written about the continent’s ability to ‘leapfrog’ stages of economic development, through the likes of cellular technology for instance, this isn’t universally true.

Even though cities in some of Africa’s biggest markets embrace 5G, access still remains a major barrier for many.

If Africa is to reach its full potential and secure the economic future that so many believe it is | MORE ON PAGE 3

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News/Editorial

THEBUSINESS24ONLINE.COM

Horticulture fast becoming the new job-making machine “When the last tree dies, the last man dies” they say and truly so because flora and fauna preserve the environment and hence human life, and at a time that economies are grossly feeling the harsh outcomes of climate change, the need to preserve our environment and green resources have become even more critical.

Aside the enviro-friendly outcomes, there is proven economic potential in the green economy, specifically the horticultural value chain.

Recent statistics put proportions of the youth (15 to 35) that are unemployed and seeking work at 34.2percent. Unemployment is therefore considered by many to be the most critical issue affecting the country.

It is trite to say that with the right national and individual orientation, policies, and drive, Ghana’s rich flora and fauna resources could provide millions of jobs to the country’s teeming youth.

Stratcomm Africa is leading the charge to green

Ghana for the varied purposes of beautification, wealth and job creation as well as a sustainable fight against climate change.

Now in is tenth year, the annual Garden and Flower Show challenges and motivates the youth and businesses in the sector to aspire to grow and reach their full potential, in order to improve their livelihoods and impact society.

This year’s theme “Growth Unleashed” preps the mind of young Ghanaians to burst forth and to grow beyond the norms to achieve a blooming environment.

The global horticulture market is estimated to be valued at USD 20.77 Billion as of 2021 and is projected to reach US$40.24bn by 2026 at a compound annual growth of 10.2percent whilst global flower and ornamental plants market was valued at US$475.6m in 2020 and is expected to reach US$725.4m by the end of 2027, growing annually at 6.3percent during 2021-2027.

FDIs: Ghana rakes in US$2.6bn in 2021, second-highest in West Africa

BY EUGENE DAVIS

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FDI flows to Ghana increased by 39% to $2.6 billion for the year 2021, according to the World Investment Report 2022. This placed Ghana 2nd in West Africa, and 7th in Africa, in terms of FDI attraction.

The rise in Ghana’s FDI flows was attributed to major projects in its extractive industries,which included; the construction of an $850 million gold mining facility

by Newmont Corp, and the construction of a cement factory

by Ciment d’Afrique (CIMAF) for $436 million.

The increase in FDI flows reflects the findings of the Deloitte 2022 Africa Investment Attractiveness Index, which placed Ghana as the second most appealing destination for investments in Africa based on the comments of nearly 200 CEOs. “Ghana has a great global reputation, and as the host of the African Continental Free Trade Area, it provides considerable opportunities for businesses to trade in the enormous African market. Furthermore, with our democratic stability and smart business policies in place, such as the 10-Point Industrialization Agenda, Ghana most appeals to investors seeking stability and vibrancy in order to prosper and grow their firms. So, despite the current economic difficulties, investors continue to see Ghana as a desirable destination to invest”, said Yofi Grant CEO of the GIPC. In recent years, the government through the GIPC has made FDI

attraction a priority by improving investment attraction strategy to a more proactive one. It has also spurred private sector investment through the Ghana Covid 19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises (CARES) program a 100bn Ghana Cedis economic response program, aimed at supporting the private sector in targeted sectors, to accelerate growth and stabilize the Ghanaian economy.

In addition to encouraging private sector investments, the government has been working to eliminate regulatory discrepancies among several state agencies that create unnecessary barriers to doing business. The GIPC for instance, has digitized its registration procedure, making it considerably quicker and more flexible for investors to register and apply for exemptions under the GIPC Act (Act 865).

“It is essential to note that Foreign Direct Investment in an economy like ours is crucial for creating jobs, gaining access to new technologies, increasing

output, expanding trade, and forming valuable relationships between local enterprises and multinational corporations.”

As such the GIPC will not relent in promoting Ghana as a choice destination for investment and assiduously engaging with global partners”, noted Mr Grant.

Overall, the World Investment Report indicated that FDI flows to Africa reached $83 billion, a record high, up from $39 billion in 2020, representing for 5.2% of global FDI. Meanwhile, FDI into the West African Subregion increased by 48% to $14 billion.

Neighboring Nigeriawere the highest beneficiaries with FDI flows doubling to $4.8 billion, mainly because of the resurgence in oil investment and expansion in gas.

For the rest of 2022, the World Investment Report predicts that FDI flows to developing economies are expected to be strongly affected by the war in Ukraine and its wider ramifications.

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| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Digital inequality is a major threat to Africa’s economic future

By Sean Riley, CEO of Ad Dynamo by Aleph capable of, it is imperative that digital inequality is addressed immediately.

Promising growth, but still room for improvement There is however, promising growth especially when it comes to internet access. According to Statista, Nigeria is set to add 35 million new users by 2026. In Ghana, World Bank figures show that 58% of the population is now online, with the number of new internet users also increasing by 6% between 2020 and 2021.

Yet, there is still significant room for additional growth. Focusing on Sub-Saharan Africa, upwards of 800 million people are not yet connected to mobile internet. A comparatively small proportion of those people (270 million) are not connected because they do not have the required coverage.

However, of greater concern are the 520 million people across the region who could theoretically access the mobile internet but still don’t. This comes down to a number of interconnected reasons, including cost, lack of skills, education, age, and location.

As connectivity becomes cheaper and more ubiquitous, those numbers should organically decrease, presenting some

| Continued from page 1

economic benefits on its own, but it won’t be enough to ensure that Africa reaches its full potential.

After all, 50% of the Global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is already digitalised, a percentage that is expected to only increase in the coming years. However, unless the right skills are developed to complement increasing connectivity, and enable the continent to effectively compete in the global digital arena, Africa risks becoming a net consumer in that economy, as organisations and entrepreneurs who fall into the other 50% will benefit.

Wide-scale skills development is needed In order for Africa to truly reach its digital economic potential, it also needs to address the unequal spread of digital skills across the continent. This is true both for those entering the job market and those looking to become entrepreneurs, for which it is important to remember that a broad range of skills will be increasingly required.

Furthermore, those able to develop software, or build and repair digital infrastructure will of course remain sought after, but those who can effectively market businesses to growing

online consumers will also be of high importance. According to a study by The International Finance Corporation, 230 million jobs across the continent will in fact require a level of digital skills by 2030, Included in that number are HR, marketing, sales, and operations roles.

Newly online consumers represent a lucrative target audience for businesses around the globe. As such, they are largely targeted via major social platforms including Twitter, Snapchat, and Spotify. Thus, it is also imperative for businesses across Africa to understand how to effectively reach their audience organically and through platform advertisements. This is something we at Ad Dynamo and the wider Aleph Group fundamentally understand, which is why we want to be part of the solution.

This is why we recently launched our Digital Ad Expert educational programme in Nigeria and Ghana.

The free online programme aims to educate, certify, and connect thousands of people across Africa with the necessary digital skills to succeed in a rapidly digitalising economy.

While some people in these markets have the resources

needed to build up these skills on their own, we believe it’s critical to narrow the gap and reduce inequality as much as possible.

Now is the time Thus, it is time to truly bridge the divide, and close the gaps evident across the African continent, so we can ensure its digital future.

Fortunately, there is a growing number of prospects opening up to people in Africa, and with the help of solutions such as those provided by Digital Ad Expert, the opportunity to discover the world of digital marketing, and the potential it holds for you, or your business is unparalleled.

MSMEs need encouragement to break through the odds -GEA boss The CEO of the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA), Kosi Yankey-Ayeh has urged stakeholders in the business sector to rally behind micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in other for these businesses to break through the odds and become global champions.

Speaking at the maiden edition of the Esther Ocloo Lecture on African Entrepreneurship on the theme “Making Homegrown a Reality” at Sekondi in the Western Region, she said “MSMEs in Ghana need the encouragement to break through the odds. That is why our new Act that transitioned NBSSI to GEA, gives us the mandate at GEA to transform and develop MSMEs which are considered to be the backbone of our dear economy as well as crucial for the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).”

She further added that government of Ghana attaches great importance to the development of MSMEs due to their economic importance in job creation and their contribution to the country’s GDP. However, the sector continues to face several challenges which include lack of funding opportunities, lack of information, lack of market opportunities, regulatory challenges, and networking opportunities.

For her, the GEA has put in place a number of interventions to develop and grow the MSME sector and more specifically target the economic empowerment of women in Ghana. From 2017 to 2020, a total of 635,890 persons have benefited from the various interventions by GEA with more than 60% of the total beneficiaries being women. The support ranged from business formalization,

access to finance, productivity, and access to markets among others.

She also paid tribute to the late Maame Esther Afua Ocloo, a dynamic Ghanaian entrepreneur,who was being celebrated with the establishment of the annual lecture, and was a co-founder of the Women’s World Banking in 1979.

“It is for this reason that GEA identifies and aligns with the of objectives of this maiden event of the Esther Ocloo Annual Lecture on African Entrepreneurship. The time is apt for us to appreciate those who have excelled against all odds. Today we have met to celebrate culture, excellence and resilience of homegrown businesses, and also to extol our strong, abled and successful woman whose footprint is there for all to see and has also become a role-model for numerous MSMEs

in Ghana.”

Mr. Kwaw Ansah, chairman of Bisa Aberwa Musuem on his part expressed his excitement to partner GEA and stated the lecture would be an annual project on “which platform we, in collaboration with other pan Africanist-minded individuals and organizations, shall never cease to advocate home-grown solutions

by Ghanaian industrialist business women and men.”

Further, he said “We named this annual lecture after the late Maame Esther Afua Ocloo, a dynamic Ghanaian entrepreneur who, as co-founder in 1979 and head of Women’s World Banking, pioneered the practice of micro lending, providing tiny loans to small home-based businesses, usually those run by women in less-developed countries. | Continued on page 5

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Gov’t focused on reviving economy – Afenyo-Markin

BY EUGENE DAVIS

| STORY ON PAGE 4

Deputy Majority Leader Alexander Afenyo-Markin says the priority of government is to revive the economy in the face of global challenges.

Addressing the press on Monday, after the statement on the 2022 mid-year budget, Mr. AfenyoMarkin conceded economic challenges but indicated that government cannot run a perfect system but is committed to repair the economy.

“We are not running a 100percent perfection, it is not possible, mistakes will be made, disappointments will come, you expect that there should be critiques, it keeps you on your toes as a government but the NDC should not create any misleading impression that they are better managers than the NPP in terms of governance.

If today they are calling on Finance Minister to resign, they are personalizing government, we dare ask them, did Seth Terkper resign?, did their ministers resign?, because in

spite of their incompetence they still believed in the collective, today they are proud of former President Mahama, if it is so they should give us the opportunity to transform the economy where it became a problem as a result of covid and Ukraine Russian war, we have demonstrated that with the policies in place we will be able to get out of this.”

Government on Monday through the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, presented a statement to Parliament on the 2022 midyear budget, announcing that it had lowered its 2022 economic growth forecast but the budget deficit is expected to be smaller than previously, as it discusses a support package with the International Monetary Fund.

The finance minister said in a mid-year budget statement that the economy was now projected to grow 3.7% this year, compared to the 5.8% seen when the 2022 budget was presented in November.

Minority sees “no hope” in

budget Ranking Member of Finance Committee, Ato Forson during debate time of the statement of the finance minister on Tuesday, stated that the Ghanaian. economy “is in a bad way”, as a result of galloping inflation, hovering around 29.8percet, rising unemployment, weak revenue performance and he predicted that the country will end the year where the cedi will sell at 9.1percent to the dollar.

According to him, given moody’s CAA 1 rating of Ghana,

the country will not be able to enter international market for the next 24months because “of the situation we are in, we have seen widening of spreads of the international bond market, our economic management has lost favour in international market.

Fiscal deficit deteriorating, projection for 2022 will be in double digits, Sinohydro loan is due for servicing next year, our debt to GDP will exceed 90percent by end of the year. Budget brings no hope to the people of Ghana.”

AfCFTA Secretariat, Equity Group cement partnership to deepen African economic integration The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat and Equity Group have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to deepen the economic integration of the African continent.

The partnership seeks to implement the AfCFTA Agreement and the AfCFTA Private Sector

Strategy through the `Africa Recovery and Resilience Plan’, which focuses on acceleration of economic recovery and resilience in Africa, in a post-COVID 19 environment.

The initiative is designed to showcase a framework for socioeconomic transformation for the people of the African continent

based on 6 integrated pillars aimed at catalysing a natural resources-led transformation of Africa, enhancing agriculture output, formalising extractive value chains, and connecting these primary sectors to global supply chains that are broken and require diversification and secured sourcing.

Wamkele Mene, SecretaryGeneral, AfCFTA Secretariat: ‘’The AfCFTA will ensure the continent is well positioned to overcome crises such as COVID-19 leveraging on the framework of the AfCFTA Agreement.

Our partnership with the Equity Group is a valuable intervention for the African Continent, whereby we acknowledge that trade is going to enable our continent to accelerate economic recovery.

With AUDA-NEPAD, we will also be able to deliver on our respective mandates through complementarity of our expertise, skills, purpose and vision, by taking special consideration of the interests of micro-, small and medium-sized enterprises, women-owned businesses, workers, and youth.’’

The two institutions will work on the private sector economic recovery and resilience stimulus plan, which Equity has seeded with a USD 6 Billion fund.

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Vodafone celebrated for its engaging and creative ads Vodafone Ghana has been celebrated for its engaging and creative ads at the 2022 Marketing and Communications Awards.

The telco picked up three prestigious awards, including the Most Creative Ad of the Year for Vodafone Cash’s sensational ‘’Me Te Wo’’ ad.

The TV commercial creatively demonstrated that Vodafone Cash is the only mobile money operator that has waived its telco charges to enable customers send money to any mobile money service provider for free; only the mandatory e-levy applies.

Over the period, Vodafone has delivered highly successful advertising campaigns that solidify its position as the most engaging brand across various channels. Vodafone uses clever, funny, and profound messaging and content that are memorable years after first being seen or heard to connect with its customers while inciting the desired action.

Its iconic adverts include the Vodafone Cash ad series that starred celebrated comedian SDK Dele and actor Yaw Dabo.

Vodafone’s secure platform, varied innovative products, and free money transfer service

| Continued from page 3 For now, I mention her to stress the point that Esther Ocloo’s achievement did not start with a big education. Maame was not a PhD holder from a School of Business and success is not all about money. Esther Ocloo started with six shillings. It is the spirit of determination, the honesty and integrity of heart, combined with the can-do spirit that made that woman great and Nkulenu Industries the world class company it has grown to be.”

The Managing Director of Nkulenu Industries, Mr. Steven Ocloo commended the organisers of the event and maintained that the company “would be exactly 80 years old this year and so unveiling this statue is most befitting and timely.”

This Lecture is aimed at finding a radical solution to help Africans take the commanding height of their economies by using African raw materials and expertise for production, distribution as well as encouraging patronage of locally made goods and services with the hope of reducing the excessive importation of goods into the country and to strengthen our economy.

were all communicated in the serialised ad.

Vodafone’s thematic data campaign rehashed the seemingly endless possibilities the internet offers if we dare to dream. In the video, a genius young boy and his sister engineer a solution that allows their physically challenged mother to remotely open the door and switch off the light.

The TV ad for the 10th edition of Vodafone’s award-winning

TV programme, Healthline, also featured the TikTok sensation, Dr Likee, in an encounter with a medical doctor. The ad, which is aimed at discouraging selfmedication, features a hilarious encounter between Dr Likee and a medical doctor. Dr Likee, who is the patient, is seen displaying various herbs, pills, concoctions, leaves, and other local remedies that he is using to treat a stomach upset.

The reigning 2021 CIMG Telecoms Company of the Year also picked the Most Innovative Product for its free Mobile Money Interoperability (MMI) service.

The company’s annual Ashanti Month campaign, which gives a special focus to the Ashanti Region by undertaking a score of socially impactful initiatives in June every year, was also named the Regional Campaign of the Year.

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| FEATUTRE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Europe’s energy choice

By Bo Lidegaard Russia’s war in Ukraine and the disruption of Russian gas exports to Europe has triggered an energy crunch, with price spikes unlike anything seen since 1973. And the situation will get worse before it gets better. Russian natural-gas flows to Europe are likely to be further curtailed – or even shut off – before winter, and sanctions on oil exports may soon start to bite into energy supplies, too.

The crisis is twofold. The urgency of keeping Europe warm and running through the next few winters must be considered alongside the imperative to accelerate the transition to clean energy. Many see a conflict here between the short term and the long term. But responding to the immediate energy crisis in the right way will also help to address the broader climate challenge.

Authorities must both buffer the shock and accelerate the transition.

To be sure, the European countries that are most dependent on Russian gas and oil will struggle

to secure power and heat for the coming winter. Gas reserves are only 65% full, and the Russian stranglehold will make it difficult and expensive to reach the European Union’s target of 80% before winter.

The crucial question for major economic powers, then, is whether they can manage through the winter without forcing their big domestic industrial gas consumers to shut down. The answer is probably yes, provided that Europeans demonstrate cross-border energysavings solidarity (as suggested by the EU), and maximize the use of all other energy sources.

Letting high prices destroy marginal demand (including among private consumers) confronts policymakers with a difficult choice.

Contrary to how the situation is often framed in the media, this choice is not between climate change and civil unrest. No one doubts that Europe will need to increase its use of liquefied natural

gas, continue burning coal over the next few years, and do more to help vulnerable communities and some industries manage higher energy costs. What matters is how policymakers approach these tasks.

Crucially, subsidizing fossil-fuel consumption by capping energy prices at the pump or the power meter will only aggravate price inflation, effectively transferring taxpayers’ money to gas and oil producers. Handing out checks to those most in need is a good idea, whereas eliminating the incentive for everybody to save energy is a terrible one.

This tension is at the center of the debates now playing out across Europe, from local municipalities to the highest decision-making levels in Brussels. While some Europeans associate today’s energy-price inflation with the war in Ukraine, others think it stems from broader efforts to combat climate change.

For example, the vast majority of Italians blame the energy crunch on geopolitical tensions, whereas

a significant share of Germans and Poles blame climate-change policies. Much will depend on which side wins this battle for hearts and minds.

Europe’s choice will hold important implications for whether we can limit global warming to 1.5° Celsius. If European politicians can convince their electorates to go along with the right longer-term strategic decisions, they could both manage the energy crunch over the next few winters and leverage renewable energy and energyefficiency improvements on an unprecedented scale.

That would position the EU decisively as one of the leading major economies in the green transition – making it competitive with China, and demonstrating that wealth and welfare are not synonymous with burning fossil fuel. Conversely, if Europe panics and locks in fossil-fuel price subsidies and new investments in long-term gas infrastructure, it will have squandered a historic opportunity.

Even as we move toward a medium term in which renewables can provide stable and affordable energy, other obstacles will arise.

We will need ample affordable energy, both to power everything that can be electrified and to provide zero-carbon fuels for industries, products, and activities that cannot. We therefore must build the new green-energy infrastructure as quickly and cheaply as possible.

But “fast and cheap” does not always align with security or dependency concerns. The new concept of “friend-shoring” implies that Europe will want to source all essential parts of its energy infrastructure from allies and friendly partners as a means of ensuring reliable supplies.

But while achieving near selfsufficiency through domestic green infrastructure production and friend-shoring is ultimately possible, it is not the cheapest or the fastest option in the short term.

Europe will need to engage more widely with neighbors and global partners to scale up green industries and reduce the marginal costs of green technologies.

European electorates will demand fast, cheap, clean, and secure energy, but satisfying them is unattainable in the short term.

Once again, we are back to hard political choices. Creative political solutions can help; but politicians will have to decide on a strategy and then convince the public to come along with them. Europeans should expect nothing less of their leaders.

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

GSA participates in Central Regional Trade, Investment Fair in Cape Coast The Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) is participating in the Central Regional Trade, Tourism and Investment Fair which is underway at the Adisadel College Park in Cape Coast.

Dubbed ‘Central Expo 2022’, the fair is being held under the theme: “Promoting Trade, Tourism and Investments in the Central Region – Challenges, Prospects and Solutions.”

First held in 1998, the fair returns after a 24-year hiatus with the aim of stimulating business and economic activities in the region.

It has assembled over 200 SMEs including those in agro-processing, agrochemicals, jewellery, clothing and accessories, herbal medicine, arts and crafts, beverages, and cosmetics.

The GSA is using the platform to educate visitors about the

importance and relevance of standards to business and economic growth.

Mrs. Dorothy Amoah, Head of Marketing, is leading the GSA team, with support from the Regional Manager, Mr. Emmanuel Agba.

The fair was officially opened on Monday by the Deputy Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture, Mr. Mark Okraku Mantey, on behalf of President Akufo-Addo.

The Central Regional Minister, Mrs. Justina Marigold Assan, during the opening ceremony, reiterated that the expo is not going to be a one-off event as the Coordinating Council intends to make it a yearly programme to spur investment in the course of the region’s sustainable growth and development.

Standard Bank’s analysts claim top honors in financial mail survey

Standard Bank Group achieved first- or second-place rankings in 20 of the 40 research categories listed in the Financial Mail’s prestigious 46th annual Top Analysts Awards, announced on 31st May 2022.

These results underscore our thought leadership on financial markets and the broader investment environment across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The results of the ‘Ranking the Analysts Survey’reveal that the Standard Bank Group, and its subsidiary SBG Securities, surpassed 29 competitors in claiming top spot across 14 wideranging research categories.

Additionally, of the six supplementary industry service categories, Standard Bank ranked first for administrative efficiency, and placed in the top three for

sales, corporate access, and equities execution.

“Our strong performance in this survey exhibits the extraordinary level of expertise in our Research team, who in turn have created enormous value for our clients and our business. The results also attest the success of the ongoing initiatives to bolster efficiencies and foster innovation, agility, and the resilience required to further improve our client service, especially in sales and administration,” said Marc Ter Mors, head of equity research at Standard Bank.

Although Standard Bank performed better across most metrics in the survey, the weighted average measurement methodology of the rankings meant the Bank ranked second

overall.

“While the Standard Bank Group placed first overall in the six consecutive years prior, we do not see our silver medal this year as a relapse. Indeed, the Group ranked first in three more categories than previously, thereby retaining the top spot across seven overall league tables most notably in the AuM Weighted and Sectors Unweighted groupings.

This underscores the increased breadth of the franchise and the robust client service model we have implemented,” said Ter Mors.

Based on votes weighted by brokerage paid, Standard Bank Group analysts earned top accolades in the following research categories: General Mining, Gold Mining, Commodities, Industrial Metals, Resources for Small and Medium Market Cap Companies, Beverages and Tobacco, Luxury Goods, Investment Companies, Real Estate, Food Producers, Africa Equities, Africa Ex-SA Nonequities; Domestic Economic Analysis, Political Analysis, and Credit Analysis. Notable top three positions in other categories include Investment Strategy, Precious Metals, Oil & Gas, Household Retailers, Telcos, Banks, Fixed Interest, and Global Economics.

Not only do the above accolades reflect the research strength

within the Standard Bank Group, the breadth of success across the categories speak to the bank’s caliber of work across Africa.

For instance, achieving top spots in mining, commodities, metals, and oil & gas, demonstrates how the Group’s success in providing clients with specialist insights on investment potential in the resources sector. The Group has provided its clients access to multi-disciplinary expert teams who have assisted with identifying opportunities and navigating risks and challenges in these sectors.

Additionally, Standard Bank has committed to several programmes to advance racial and gender equality both inside and outside its business. These endeavors are well represented by the individual investment analysts from SBGS who claimed the top spots across the research categories – they make up a team rich in racial, gender, and age diversity.

“Our award-winning analysis serves as a window into the content through which we can identify the opportunities and risks across multiple disciplines and sectors.

This not only helps us to make the right financial decisions alongside our clients, but also offers us the insight to help guide our clients in their business and investment journeys on the continent,” said Ter Mors.

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

| COMMENT/ANALYSIS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

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UG-SRC launches ‘Sponsor a Student for Skill-Up for Jobs Bootcamp 2022 The University of Ghana Students’ Representative Council (UG-SRC) under the 2021-2022 leadership in collaboration with Global Entrepreneurship Network-Ghana (GEN-Ghana) is delighted to launch the ‘Sponsor A Student for UG SRC Skill-UP for Jobs Bootcamp 2022’ fundraising campaign.

The UG-SRC Skill-UP for Jobs Bootcamp project is an experiential training and exposure programme that has been designed to train, inspire, and equip 1000 students with job creation skills. It is intended to be a weekend training programme over a one-month duration comprising in-person practical skills sessions that will focus on sequential employability skills in selected disciplines.

The participants will be coached to apply and showcase the acquired skill in microprojects at the end of the training as a prototype on proof of concepts. Experts from industry have been poached to mentor the participants on their microprojects.

The bootcamp training programme will be climaxed with a Skills for Job Summit, where students will have the opportunity to ask questions from industry experts on the skills needed for emerging jobs of the future. This will motivate students to appreciate skills training at first hand.

The goals of this studentinitiated project include to: • Bridge the entrepreneurial skills gap of students • Respond to the changing employment situation by encouraging initiative • Create an enterprise culture and stimulate entrepreneurial activity • Increase the rate at which students participate in experiential learning • Provide insights and connections for students to be part of mentoring networks Features: • The programme will feature practical masterclass Skills training • Skills for Jobs Summit and Expo event.

• Affirmative action for gender and persons with special needs will be considered Four key practical skills training clusters which advance the targets of the UN agenda 2030 (SDGs) have been selected.

These include creative arts,

food business and agribusiness, digital and tech skills and micro manufacturing.

“Data from the Institute of Statistics, Social and Economic Research (ISSER) of the University of Ghana (UG), has revealed that only 10percent of university graduates find jobs after graduation. Support the UG SRC 2021-22 to change the graduate unemployment narrative by helping us to ‘SkillUp’ UG students with income earning skills today so they can be self-employed and earn income after graduating from school.

We call on individuals, corporate organisations, development agencies, public sector institutions and the UG Alumni community to lend a hand to support this project to make a change together.

Please donate now at https:// ugsrcskillupforjobs.com/donate/ or via shortcode *887*17# on all local networks in Ghana,” says Prince Asumadu, President UGSRC 2021-2022.

The expected outcomes include: • Participants will be exposed to job creation opportunities • Participants will create new business & new markets • 1000 students will be directly trained and equipped with job skills • Contribute to the Ghana’s achievements of the UN Sustainable Development Goals • Provide students with lifelong skills and experiences to thrive economically

whilst helping Ghana to prosper • Interactions with mentors will influence student perspectives on the possibilities open to them after graduation • Participants will appreciate work and its function in the economy • Participants will develop work habits and attitudes necessary for job success “UG SRC Skill Up For Jobs is a perfect example of what academia and the private sector can do together to deal with the menace of graduate unemployment in Ghana.

We encourage individuals, philanthropists and corporate Ghana to support the students to acquire these experiential income earning skills” -said Steve Gyasi-Kwaw (Country Founder GEN Ghana) UG-SRC The Students’ Representative Council (SRC) is the umbrella body of all undergraduate students at the University of Ghana, Legon. The SRC as the official mouthpiece of the entire student body advocates for the interests of students and fosters their welfare as well. The SRC communicates the interests of students to authorities and represents the student populace on the university council and other boards.

Also, it coordinates the activities of academic, cultural, religious, political and recreational clubs and societies.

The SRC also fosters good relations between students of

the University and the outside world by coordinating with other student organisations in Ghana and elsewhere in matters of mutual interest. In recent times, the SRC has assumed more prominently the added role of being development partners of the university and the Ghanaian society at large.

GEN-Ghana Global Entrepreneurship Network – Ghana (GEN-Ghana) is an entrepreneurship and innovation advancement organisation that provides and promotes a platform of local, / international programmes and activities aimed at making it easier for anyone to start and scale a sustainable business.

We work by fostering deeper cross border collaboration and initiatives between entrepreneurs, investors, researchers, policymakers and entrepreneurial support organisations. We work with government, corporations, NGO’s, development agencies to fuel healthier start and scale ecosystems that create more jobs, wealth, educate individuals, accelerate innovations for sustainable social and economic impact.

GEN-Ghana is a company limited by guarantee under the laws of Ghana, registered in March 2010. We are a member of Global Entrepreneurship Network which operates in over 160 countries independently, working to build one entrepreneurial ecosystem around the world.

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Network International & Infobip to offer WhatsApp for Business Banking Services to financial institution clients across Africa …Collaboration with global cloud communication service provider Infobip enables banks to use globally-trusted WhatsApp platform to communicate and engage with customers 24/7 using the latest technology Leading digital payment solutions provider Network International has announced it will bring WhatsApp for Business banking services to financial institutions across Africa through a landmark collaboration with Infobip. The full-stack cloud communications company is one of the world’s largest providers of A2P SMS services and will support Network International in its commitment to financial inclusion across Africa.

In addition to helping financial institutions reach their customers through a familiar and reliable channel, the agreement will help them deliver world-class support and seamless services in a personal, timely, and reliable manner. For individuals this means people can access their money securely and quickly, as well as utilising the latest chatbot technology to help empower customers to take control of their finances.

Commenting on the deal, Network International’s Hany Fekry, Group Managing Director – Processing, said, “We are delighted to introduce WhatsApp banking across Africa with Infobip. Helping financial institutions reach customers through a secure and familiar app is in line with our goal to increase and improve digital banking services across the continent to improve financial inclusion.”

Hana Bilbeisi, Regional Head of Partnerships Sales, Infobip further added, “We are delighted to have joined forces with Network International.

Empowering individuals and communities through technology and communication is one of our key values at Infobip. By integrating WhatsApp Business API, Network International customers can now access crucial information anytime, anywhere.”

Network International is

a leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa, providing a full suite of technology-enabled payment solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all types and sizes. With offices in Nigeria, South Africa, Kenya, Ghana, and Egypt, Network International has a presence across Africa’s key markets, and the business operates across almost all other African countries.

Network International has worked closely with governments and financial institutions in Africa to promote financial inclusion, helping to drive digitisation through innovative products and collaborations such as this one. Earlier this year Network International announced a 33% increase in year-on-year revenue

for Q1 2022, and in 2021, Network International acquired DPO Group in a landmark deal for the African payments landscape.

Network International Network International comprises a group of companies and is the leading enabler of digital commerce across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region, providing a full suite of technology-enabled payments solutions to merchants and financial institutions of all types and sizes, including acquiring and processing services and a comprehensive everevolving range of value-added services. Network International Holdings Plc (LSE: NETW) is the holding company for Network International and the group companies, including the DPO

Group.

Infobip Infobip is a global cloud communications platform that enables businesses to build connections across all stages of the customer journey.

Accessed through a single platform, Infobip’s omnichannel engagement, contact center, chatbot and identity solutions help businesses and partners overcome the complexity of consumer communications to grow business and increase loyalty.

With over fifteen years of industry experience, Infobip has expanded to 70+ offices across six continents. It offers natively built technology with the capacity to reach over seven billion mobile devices and ‘things’ in 190+ countries, connected directly to over 700 telecom networks.

Infobip was established in 2006 and is led by its co-founders, CEO Silvio Kutić, Roberto Kutić and Izabel Jelenić.

Recent recognition includes: • Omdia Ranks Infobip as Leader in CPaaS Universe Report (May 2022) • Infobip recognised as the established leader in Juniper’s Competitor Leaderboard for CPaaS, 2021 • Infobip ranked leading service provider in the mobile messaging space by Juniper Research in its new Competitor Leaderboard, 2021 • Infobip named a Leader in the IDC MarketScape: Worldwide Communications Platformas-a-Service (CPaaS) 2021 Vendor Assessment (doc #US46746221, May 2021) • Best A2P SMS provider for the fourth year running by mobile operators and enterprises in ROCCO’s annual Messaging Vendor Benchmarking Report 2021 • Best CPaaS Provider of the Year, Best RCS Provider of the Year, and Mover & Shaker in Telco Innovation at the 2021 Juniper Digital Awards

| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

11

Navigating currency devaluations with investments in BUSD Stablecoin In the past, the currencies of some of the most powerful countries had their values directly linked to gold. Their currencies could be exchanged for a specified amount of gold determined by its international value.

However, as world governments have moved on from the gold standard, they have since developed and deployed more modern monetary policy tools to control the supply and demand of their currencies and deliberately adjust a country’s currency exchange rate.

One of such tools is devaluation - a measure used to strategically lower the purchasing power of a country’s currency. While this strategy has a few positive use cases such as giving a country a competitive advantage in global trade and reductions in trade deficits, it also gives way to uncertainty. It is for this reason new investors and expert traders constantly seek to protect their investments and assets against devaluations and inflation.

In countries that have experienced extreme devaluations, cryptocurrency

investments in stablecoins are no longer just an option but a necessity. A recent report on the global state of crypto proves this through a survey carried out in 20 countries over six continents with 30,000 respondents.

The report shows that countries with over 50% devaluation of their currency against the USD over the last ten years are more likely to state that they plan to purchase crypto than those in countries that have experienced less than 50% currency devaluation. For instance, in Brazil, the local currency has been devalued by over 200% against the USD, resulting in 41% of respondents owning crypto.

It is against this backdrop that cryptocurrency exchanges like Binance have developed niche crypto assets called stablecoins.

Binance USD (BUSD) was set up in an effort to create a cryptocurrency whose value is tied to an external asset (in this case the US dollar) with zero volatility.

The BUSD is a stablecoin that has become one of the fastestgrowing stablecoins with high demand in the crypto market.

BUSD is also considered an in-demand choice for people looking to stabilise their personal funds and preserve the value of their assets. As a result of its accessibility, it gives traders the opportunity to process transactions with speed, ease, and flexibility.

Also, another benefit is that users can trade with multiple contracts at any time. Moreso, it is one of the only stablecoins that provide monthly audits which makes it a highly regulated asset.

As the world’s largest crypto exchange by volume, Binance naturally played a huge role in the propagation of stablecoins and soon launched its own stablecoin.

As a result of its effective transaction confirmation speed, which outperformed most other stablecoins, BUSD currently ranks as the 6th highest crypto market cap with $18bn worth in circulation.

A few weeks ago, the crypto world witnessed the downturn of a popular algorithmic stablecoin whose dollar peg was not backed by offline dollar reserve, but by complex algorithms and smart contracts. Prior to the collapse,

there had been continued speculation about the size of dollar reserves held by similar stablecoins, with some analysts going as far as to say stablecoins issuers were effectively printing dollars and potentially causing inflation by creating unbacked stablecoin tokens.

BUSD by comparison routinely conducts full audits that are published every month. In other words, every BUSD token that has been issued is backed by a US dollar in a bank vault, and furthermore, there is a public auditor’s report to prove it.

Considering that this level of transparency is not required in most jurisdictions where Binance operates, it’s a strong positive indicator that gives users the confidence to rely on BUSD as a trustworthy and dependable alternative to currency depreciation and devaluation.

Are you interested in purchasing and investing in BUSD? You can get started by downloading the Binance app here and trade from anywhere in the world. Prospective users can get into the world of BUSD today.

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| NEWS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Stratcomm Africa Facilitates Information Sharing By Winners Of The Israeli Green Innovation Challenge (IGIC)

At a media briefing on Thursday organized by Strategic Communications Africa Limited (Stratcomm Africa) two past winners of the Israeli Green Innovation Challenge (IGIC), shared experiences from their trips to Israel.

An all-expenses-paid visit to Israel is the prize for first place winners in the challenge, and Jeffery Appiagyei of Sayetech Company Limited and Maxwell Kojo Xornu of Ebapreneur Solutions were the 2020 and 2021 winners. Briefing the media, each spoke about their winning innovation and their experiences during the trip to Israel, including networking and learning from the experiences of innovators in Israel.

They emphasized that Ghana can also capitalize on innovation to create a more sustainable and better life for citizens. They encouraged young individuals with rich ideas to take advantage of this year’s competition, send in their applications, go through the process and give their business idea a boost.

Maxwell said, “My visit to Israel really exposed me to how startups can contribute to a country’s development. Israel is really a start-up nation. A nation of innovation”

Jeffery reinforced Maxwell’s message with the following “we read about Israel being a land of milk and honey. This milk and honey are their ideas and innovations, through which they have been able to create unique solutions and interventions to improve their country” Speaking after the sharing of the experiences of the two winners, Mrs. Sharon Anim, Stratcomm Africa’s Manager for PR and Communication said, “It is refreshing to see young entrepreneurs coming up with solutions that help Ghana’s agriculture and address issues of climate change, and Stratcomm Africa is delighted to be projecting such impactful stories.

This year marks 10 years of the Ghana Garden and Flower Show and the 4th year of the Israeli Green Innovation Challenge.

Stratcomm Africa is not relenting in our commitment to promoting a Greener, Cleaner, Healthier, Wealthier and a More Beautiful Ghana” The CEO of Stratcomm Africa, Ms. Esther A.N Cobbah thanked the Embassy of Israel in Ghana for investing in the development of these young entrepreneurs and for believing in the Stratcomm Africa vision for young people in

Ghana.

She added that, “The partnership with the Israeli Embassy enables Stratcomm Africa to use its communication expertise to create opportunities for young enterprising Ghanaians to grow their talents and develop sustainable enterprises.”

In addition to creating this platform for the young entrepreneurs to share their stories, Stratcomm Africa would take the three top winners of IGIC for various years through its unique offering for SMEs and Start-Ups, “Skill up to Scale up with Communication”. Additionally, a forum for young people would be provided at the Ghana Garden and Flower Show for the winners to share with more young people in Ghana the potential that exists in Ghana’s agricultural sector.

The 2022 Ghana Garden and Flower Show to be held at the Efua Sutherland Children’s Park is the 10th-anniversary edition with the theme, “Growth Unleashed”, -expressing a determination to help unleash growth in individual livelihoods and national development.

The Press and Media Coordinator of the Israeli Embassy of Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, Juliana Yorke, and

Karen Hyde-Copper, Economic Political Officer of the Embassy, were present at the media briefing.

Registration for the 4th Edition of the Israeli Green Innovation Competition 2022 has commenced and will close on the 4th of August 2022.

The competition welcomes applications from individuals between the age of 18 to 35 years and youth start-ups with innovative ideas and solutions in respect of the Agricultural sector.

Visit https://www. gardenandflowergh.com/igic/ registration to register now!

The Israeli Green Innovation Challenge (IGIC) is a collaboration between the Embassy of the State of Israel for Ghana, Sierra Leone and Liberia, and the Ghana Garden and Flower Movement, an initiative of Stratcomm Africa. IGIC, which started in 2019, seeks to honour individual Ghanaian youth and start-ups with innovative interventions that contribute to the growth of Ghana’s agricultural sector while addressing climate change and helping to conserve the environment.

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| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Mastercard Foundation, Global Shea Alliance to create 90,000 work opportunities in Ghana’s Shea Value Chain

The Mastercard Foundation, Global Shea Alliance (GSA), and a consortium of partners, today announced the launch of the Shea Business Empowerment Program (SBEP) to help transform and introduce innovation in the shea value chain in Ghana.

The three-year, $5.7 million program will create 90,000 dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for women shea collectors, processors, cooperatives, and SMEs in Ghana by addressing key barriers in the value chain that will unlock the significant earning potential of value chain actors, including collectors, cooperatives, and SMEs. Working with Nuts for Growth, and other partners, including Advans Ghana, Women for Change, Agrocenta, Softribe, as well as GSA’s sustainability partners, the program will facilitate access to finance for cooperatives and SMEs, provide business coaching and entrepreneurship support, and

leverage digital technologies to enhance traceability and market linkages.

Additionally, the program will support 150 shea cooperatives and 300 SMEs in Ghana to improve their business capacity, access financial products, and tackle gender related barriers such as lack of access to childcare for women in the shea value chain.

Shea production in Northern Ghana Shea is traditionally a hand collected commodity. Between May and August each year, 16 million rural women farmers collect the fallen fruit from shea parklands across Africa. The work is hard and laborious, with women walking several miles in hot and humid conditions to collect them.

The shea trees used to grow within communities, but those trees are now limited due to growing rural populations. The shea kernels are often hand processed into butter and used within households, with excesses sold on the market.

The SBEP program will introduce innovation into the collection, processing, and marketing of shea products to increase the economic benefits value chain actors, especially women, derive from the sector.

Speaking about the program, the President of the GSA, Simballa Sylla said, “This collaboration introduces important elements, including the childcare program to unburden women collectors in rural Northern Ghana. It also presents shea as an attractive business venture for students, by connecting them with cooperatives to get a deeper understanding of the value chain and opportunities within it for young people. This collaboration highlights industry’s commitment and dedication to the success of women’s cooperatives and SMEs in the Ghanaian shea sector and industry at large.”

The SBEP program aligns with the Mastercard Foundation’s

Young Africa Works strategy in Ghana, which focuses on deepening efforts in the agriculture and agriculture adjacent sector, to unlock dignified and fulfilling work opportunities for young Ghanaians, especially women.

Speaking at the Launch, the Ghana Country Head at the Mastercard Foundation, Rosy Fynn, said, “The shea value chain in Ghana is dominated by women and presents a powerful opportunity to reduce poverty and address system barriers that limit young women in the sector from reaching their full economic and social potential. Through this partnership we are fostering collaboration among experienced ecosystem actors to strengthen the value chain and encourage women to transition their informal ventures into viable and sustainable business enterprises, which will automatically create a positive ripple effect in their families and communities.”

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| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

As the World Burns

BY Richard Baass

It is often said that no one wins a war, just that some lose less than others. Russia’s war against Ukraine promises to be no exception. One clear loser is already evident: the planet.

The war has become the international priority for policymakers and publics. And rightly so: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s aggression against Ukraine threatens a pillar of international order, namely the prohibition on changing borders by force. But the war has also triggered a global scramble for sufficient supplies of energy in response to sanctions against Russian energy exports and the possibility that Russia will cut off supplies. Many countries have found that the easiest and quickest route is to secure greenhouse-gas-emitting fossil fuels.

But even before Putin launched his war, the battle against climate change was being lost. It has been hard to generate any sense of urgency about a problem widely viewed as real (denial of climate science is fading) but seen mostly as something that can be dealt with in the future.

Record-high temperatures in Europe and elsewhere, droughts, wildfires, more severe storms, and increased migration may change this perception, but so far, they have not.

Moreover, any government acting alone will not solve the problem. There is thus a sense in many countries that doing the right thing will not matter, because others will continue to do the wrong thing, and all will suffer.

Then there is the related question, most often heard in

the developing world: “Why should we do the right thing when we did not cause the problem?” Poor countries reject as a double standard being asked by wealthy countries – which industrialized at a time when climate considerations did not count for much and are responsible for far higher historical carbon emissions – to develop in a manner that denies them access to the cheapest form of energy. Adding to the problem is that several countries (Brazil in particular) are not doing what they can to prevent the destruction of rainforests, the earth’s natural carbon sponge.

Speaking of double standards, international efforts to slow climate change are hampered by opposition to greater reliance on nuclear power, even though it releases no carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Since the 2011 Fukushima disaster in Japan, operating existing nuclear reactors or building new, safer plants has become an uphill political battle.

Efforts to slow climate change still suffer from the perception that they must come at the expense of employment and economic growth. This is increasingly untrue: Climate change is proving to be costly, while introducing alternatives to fossil fuels can create jobs and reduce energy costs over time.

But resistance to going down this path is intense, especially in areas that have long depended on the production of fossil fuels.

For all these reasons, international efforts to slow the pace of global warming have accomplished little. World leaders will convene again this

November (in Egypt) for the next United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) but there is no reason to be optimistic that this meeting will accomplish much more than the 26 that preceded it.

The United States, traditionally a leader of international efforts to rein in climate change, is increasingly sidelined.

Its previous president, Donald Trump, withdrew the US from the 2015 Paris climate accord, while his successor, Joe Biden, is increasingly limited in what he can do because Congress (above all, its Republican members) will not subsidize development of alternative energy sources, and the Supreme Court has sharply curtailed the federal government’s authority to regulate CO2 emissions. There is also little or no political support for taxing emissions or entering trade agreements that would discourage coal or oil consumption by placing tariffs on products that use them intensively.

The result is that Earth’s surface temperature is an estimated 1.1º Celsius above pre-industrial levels and will grow warmer because of previous activity, even if the world stopped emitting greenhouse gases today – which it obviously will not. On the contrary, our current trajectory leads to a much warmer climate, affecting ice sheets, rainforests, and tundra. In a virtuous cycle, good developments lead to better developments; when it comes to climate, the cycle is vicious: bad leads to worse.

Is there any cause for hope?

There is, but for the most part not from governmental efforts,

whether alone or in tandem.

Political leaders are unlikely to act at a scale commensurate with the problem until it is too late.

One area of potential progress could come from corporations, which have financial incentives to introduce more fuel-efficient products. National and local governments can increase companies’ stakes in doing so by enacting regulations that encourage investment in innovation.

A second area for positive change is adaptation.

Governments can build infrastructure to help manage the effects of climate change, such as flooding, and financial institutions can use lending and insurance policies to discourage people from building homes in flood- or fire-prone areas.

The best hope of getting ahead of climate change may well come from technology, primarily those that enable us to stop or even reverse climate change, whether by removing some atmospheric carbon or by putting reflective particles in the atmosphere to reduce the amount of sunlight that reaches Earth. Developing such technologies needs to be a priority.

There is a recent precedent for such an effort: COVID-19. While the global death toll is somewhere between 15-18 million, what saved us from an even greater catastrophe was government and business coming together to develop a new generation of highly effective vaccines in record time. With climate change, too, we will have to rely more on physical science than political science to save us from ourselves.

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| TOURISM

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Sustainable tourism through Green Ghana Project

By Philip Gebu Some major challenge the “Green Ghana Project” faced last year and may still face this year are the sustainability, the protection and watering of the planted trees.

Yes indeed this exercise is done in June with the expectations of high rains. This year the rains began early and we missed a lot of water had we began the planting at the beginning of the raining season. In these days of climate change uncertainties, we need to reconsider holding a fixed date in June rather than moving along with the early rains. Last year, following the tree planting, on one of my usual visit to the places where we planted the trees i.e. along the median of a highway to my amazement, cows and sheep were busily grazing on the plants. During this year’s launch, The President of the Republic mentioned that he was told the trees are doing well. There are however some places where the trees didn’t do as well as expected especially where we did our tree planting last year. These stray animals keep loitering around and it’s sad irrespective of the many complains I made to the Assembly, nothing has been done to arrest the owners of these animals.

Following the tree planting exercise, I met with officials of a municipal assembly and I wouldn’t want to mention the name. I asked an official of the assembly to appoint one of their worker to be doing the watering and I volunteered to pay the person every month.

Unfortunately, it never saw the light of day. I followed up yet nothing happened. My wife and I then volunteered to water them on weekends. That’s the best we could do. Seeing the stray animals on a regular bases killed our desire to keep going forward. Passersby who saw us watering the plants told us they know where the owners of these animals live. I hope it’s this year they may be apprehended. The lack of constant watering also affected some of the trees who eventually died from the sun exposure. Something needs to change this year to unable us meet the 20 million trees target if not it may be far from being achieved.

The law must be made to work this year. It will a great disservice to the people who spend their time planting the trees like the People With Disability and allow them to die. The success of this exercise will be of great benefit to the environment and generations unborn.

As we implement this year’s program, there are some best

practices as outlined by the University of Minnesota which could be of help to all of us.

When to water Newly planted trees or shrubs require more frequent watering than established trees and shrubs. They should be watered at planting time and at these intervals: • 1-2 weeks after planting, water daily.

• 3-12 weeks after planting, water every 2 to 3 days.

• After 12 weeks, water weekly until roots are established.

How long does it take for tree and shrub roots to establish?

Newly planted shrubs are considered established when their root spread equals the spread of the above-ground canopy. In Minnesota, this will take one to two years.

OTHER FACTORS AFFECTING A YOUNG TREE’S WATER NEEDS Beyond the rules of thumb listed above, the water needs of your young tree are affected by many factors, including: Tree Species and Size It’s a good idea to know the general water needs of the trees you choose before planting them.

• Different species of trees have different transpiration rates, meaning they need different amounts of water and take up water by their roots at different rates.

Trees that have evolved to withstand windy, coastal conditions are very different from trees that evolved in humid, rainforest, or subtropical conditions.

• Rootball size at planting determines water use. If you are planting more mature trees with larger rootballs, remember that in addition to their larger rootballs they will most likely have larger crowns with more branches and leaves to support. The stress of transplanting can cause trees to drop some or all of their leaves, so be sure to provide enough water to minimize transplanting stress.

Location Is the tree in full sun or in a windy location? Is it in a low spot or where there’s shade? Are you planting your new tree on a slope? The specifics of a tree’s surroundings are important to its water uptake needs.

• A low spot in part shade will most likely lose water more slowly than a spot that’s in full sun, because of slower evaporation.

• The top of a slope will lose water most quickly because of gravity pulling the water down the slope and through the soil.

• A windy spot will increase the transpiration rate of a tree, as the water that’s released by a tree’s stomata (openings on the underside of leaves that release water) will evaporate more quickly when wind blows it away. This means the tree needs more water, faster, to be transferred from its root system to its crown to keep its transpiration balanced.

Competition Are there many other trees and shrubs around your new tree?

How about lawn or flower beds?

• Competition by your plants for water is real! You’ll want to supply enough water to keep everyone’s roots healthy.

Temperature Outdoor temperatures and hours of sunlight are directly related to how much water a tree of any size needs.

• The hotter it is, the more water a tree’s roots will take up.

• The longer the hours of sunlight, the more time that tree will spend taking up water each day.

Soil Texture The kind of soil your tree is planted in is also important.

Soil has a natural texture, defined by the percentages of its components, and that texture determines how fast water will run through it.

• Sandy soil drains water very fast, sometimes too fast for tree roots to be able to take up all the moisture they need.

• Clay soil can be slow to absorb water and can hold water for long periods of time. Clay soil can become waterlogged, essentially “drowning” your tree.

• Loam soil has the best waterholding capacity for most landscape plants and is ideal for most trees.

• Urban fill soil may be made up of any or everything, so its water-holding capacity isn’t known without a soil analysis.

Soil Depth To add to the complexity of water, soil, and trees, your soil’s depth is also important to how much water you’ll need for your young tree. Shallow soil just can’t hold the volume of water that deep soil can so your young tree’s roots will need more frequent watering.

Testing your soil will also tell you about its nutrient levels and if, or how much, you’ll need to amend your soil to ensure healthy tree growth.

From the above information, there isn’t one simple answer to the question “How much water should I give my newly-planted tree?” When you water and how much you provide will vary depending on a wide variety of factors.

However, the general tree watering guidelines are: 1. Water the rootball before planting 2. Give 2 to 3 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter right after planting 3. Provide 1 ½ to 2 inches of water each week throughout the summer and fall until temperatures cool How much to water • When watering newly planted trees, apply 1-1.5 gallons per inch of stem caliper at each watering (see table).

• When watering newly planted shrubs, apply a volume of water that is 1/4 - 1/3 of the volume of the container that the shrub was purchased in.

• As roots grow and spread, irrigation volume will need to be increased. | Continued on page 16

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| ADVERT

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

| Continued from page 15 Where to water • Apply water directly over the root ball.

• Be sure to keep the backfill soil in the planting hole moist.

This encourages the roots to expand beyond the root ball into the backfill soil.

• Tree roots grow approximately 18 inches per year in Minnesota, so expand the area being watered over time.

• Create a water reservoir by making a circular mound of earth 3 to 4 inches high around the plant at the edge of the root ball.

• Use a slow trickle of water to fill the reservoir to allow water to slowly infiltrate into and around the root ball.

• Treegator® bags can also

be used to provide a slow delivery of water over the root balls of establishing trees and shrubs.

Philip Gebu is a Tourism Lecturer. He is the C.E.O of FoReal Destinations Ltd, a Tourism Destinations Management and Marketing Company based in Ghana and with partners in many other countries. Please contact Philip with your comments and suggestions. Write to forealdestinations@gmail. com / info@forealdestinations. com. Visit our website at w w w. f o re a l d e s t i n a t i o n s . com or call or WhatsApp +233(0)244295901/0264295901.

Visist our social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: FoReal Destinations.

Business Loans For all your business loans, visit any of our 114 branches nationwide or talk to us on 0302-216000 TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLY

cbgbankltd Tel: +233 (0)302 21 6000 www.cbg.com.gh

17

| FEATURE

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Dollar dominance and the rise of nontraditional reserve currencies

By Serkan Arslanalp, Barry Eichengreen and Chima Simpson-Bell

The US dollar has long played an outsized role in global markets.

It continues to do so even as the American economy has been producing a shrinking share of global output over the last two decades.

But although the currency’s presence in global trade, international debt, and non-bank borrowing still far outstrips the US share of trade, bond issuance, and international borrowing and lending, central banks aren’t holding the greenback in their reserves to the extent that they once did.

As the Chart of the Week shows, the dollar’s share of global foreignexchange reserves fell below 59 percent in the final quarter of last year, extending a two-decade decline, according to the IMF’s Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves data.

In an example of the broader shift in the composition of foreign exchange reserves, the Bank of Israel recently unveiled a new strategy for its more than $200 billion of reserves. Beginning this year, it will reduce the share of US dollars and increase the portfolio’s allocations to the Australian dollar, Canadian dollar, Chinese renminbi and Japanese yen.

As we document in a recent IMF working paper, the reduced role of the US dollar hasn’t been matched by increases in the

shares of the other traditional reserve currencies: the euro, yen, and pound. Moreover, while there has been some increase in the share of reserves held in renminbi, this accounts for just one quarter of the shift away from dollars in recent years, partly due to China’s relatively closed capital account. Moreover, an update of data referenced in the working paper shows that, as of the end of last year, a single country— Russia—held nearly a third of the world’s renminbi reserves.

By contrast, the currencies of smaller economies that haven’t traditionally figured prominently in reserve portfolios, such as the Australian and Canadian dollars, Swedish krona and South Korean won, account for three quarters of the shift from dollars.

Two factors may help to explain the movement into this set of currencies: • These currencies combine higher returns with relatively lower volatility. This appeals increasingly to central bank reserve managers as foreign exchange stockpiles grow, raising the stakes for portfolio allocation.

• New financial technologies— such as automatic marketmaking and automated liquidity management systems—make it cheaper and easier to trade the currencies of smaller economies.

In some cases, the issuers of these currencies also have bilateral swap lines with the Federal Reserve. This, it can be argued, creates confidence that their currencies will hold their value against the dollar.

At the same time, the importance of this factor can be questioned. The nontraditional currencies tend to float. In practice, they fluctuate widely against the dollar. And their issuers have rarely if ever drawn on their bilateral swap lines with

the Fed. A regression analysis shows that having a Fed swap line is associated with a 9 percentage point increase in the dollar share of the recipient’s reserves. This may indicate that swap lines are an imperfect substitute for actual reserves.

A more plausible explanation is that these nontraditional reserve currencies are issued by countries with open capital accounts and track records of sound and stable policies. Important attributes of reserve currency issuers include not just economic weight and financial depth, but also transparent and predictable policies. In other words, the stability of the economy and policy decisions matter for international acceptance.

A regression analysis of global reserve currency shares confirms that a higher economic risk premium, measured by the cost of using credit derivatives to insure against default, reduces a currency’s share in global reserves. Evidently, holders favor the currencies of countries known for good governance, economic stability and sound finances.

18

| MARKET REVIEW

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

WEEKLY MARKET REVIEW FOR WEEK ENDING - JULY 22, 2022 MACROECONOMIC INDICATORS Q3, 2021 GDP Growth

3.3%

Average GDP Growth for 2021

3.3%

2022 Projected GDP Growth

3.7%

BoG Policy Rate

19.0%

Weekly Interbank Interest Rate

21.70%

Inflation for February, 2022

29.8%

End Period Inflation Target – 2022

28.5%

Budget Deficit (% GDP) – Dec, 2021

5.6%

2022 Budget Deficit Target (%GDP)

6.6%

Public Debt (billion GH¢) – Dec, 2021

393.4%

Debt to GDP Ratio – Dec, 2021

78.3%

STOCK MARKET REVIEW The Ghana Stock Exchange weakened for the third consecutive week on the back of price declines by 2 counters. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) lost 23.63 points (-0.96%) to close at 2,440.50 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 12.51%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) also lost 47.42 points (-2.19%) to close at 2,115.61 points, reflecting YTD loss of 1.68%.

Market capitalization dropped by 0.43% to close the week at GH¢63,475.25 million, from GH¢63,748.50 million at the close of the previous week. This reflects YTD decrease of 1.58%.

Trading activity recorded a total of 2,086,473 shares valued at GH¢1,865,540.47 changing hands, compared with 60,044,310 shares, valued at GH¢54,548,444.78 in the preceding week.

MTN dominated both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting for 87.09% and 80.85% of volume and value of shares traded respectively.

The market ended the week with no advancer and 2 decliners as indicated on the table below.

THE CURRENCY MARKET The Cedi continued its downward trend against the USD for the week. It traded at GH¢7.4745/$, compared with GH¢7.3845/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 1.20% and 19.65% respectively.

This compares with YTD depreciation of 0.69% a year ago.

The Cedi also weakened against the GBP for the week.

It traded at GH¢8.9915/£, compared with GH¢8.7577/£ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD loss of 2.60% and 9.61% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.34% a year ago.

The Cedi also lost grounds against the Euro for the week.

It traded at GH¢7.6409/€, compared with GH¢7.4499/€ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 2.50% and 10.64% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 3.46% a year ago.

The Cedi again weakened against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢5.6671/C$ but closed at GH¢5.8120/C$, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 2.49% and 18.42% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.83% a year ago.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

19

| MARKET REVIEW

BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK House Call: A house call is a demand by a brokerage firm that an account holder deposit enough cash to cover a shortfall in the amount of money deposited in a margin account. This typically follows losses in the investments bought on margin.

Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/ housecall.asp

ABOUT CIDAN COMMODITY MARKET Crude oil prices rose about 4% on the back of worries about tight supplies and a weaker dollar. Brent futures traded at US$103.71 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$99.63 at week open. This reflects a w/w and YTD gain of 4.10% and 33.34% respectively.

Gold prices steadied after posting its biggest gain in more than a month as investors weighed renewed concerns over economic growth amid tightening monetary policy. Gold settled at US$1,727.40, from US$1,828.60 last week, reflecting w/w gain and YTD loss of 1.63% and 5.53% respectively.

Prices of Cocoa inched up for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,292.00 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,267.00 last week, reflecting w/w gain and YTD loss of 1.10% and 9.05% respectively.

INTERNTIONAL COMMODITIES PRICES GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET Government raised a sum of GH¢3,524.70 million for the week across the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills and the 3-Year Fixed Rate Bond. This compared with GH¢1,150.89 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day Bill settled at 26.34% p.a from 25.96% p.a. last week whilst the 182-Day Bill settled at 28.06% p.a from 27.46% p.a. last week. The 364-Day Bill settled at 27.85% from 27.49% at last issue. The 3-Year FXR Bond settled at 29.85% from 25.00% at last issue. The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

CIDAN Investments Limited is an investment and fund management company licensed by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) and the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA).

RESEARCH TEAM Name: Ernest Tannor Email:etannor@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 20 881 8957 Name: Audrey Asiedua Wiafe Email:aaudrey@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 57 840 2700 Name: Moses Nana Osei-Yeboah Email:moyeboah@cidaninvestments.com Tel:+233 (0) 24 499 0069

CORPORATE INFORMATION CIDAN Investments Limited CIDAN House Plot No. 169 Block 6 Haatso, North Legon – Accra Tel: +233 (0) 26171 7001/ 26 300 3917 Fax: +233 (0)30 254 4351 Email: info@cidaninvestmens.com Website: www.cidaninvestments.com Disclaimer The contents of this report have been prepared to provide you with general information only. Information provided on and available from this report does not constitute any investment recommendation.

The information contained herein has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but its accuracy and completeness are not guaranteed.

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NO. B24/317 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2022

Ghana Reinsurance PLC presents dividend to government Ghana Reinsurance (Ghana Re) PLC has presented a cheque of GH¢12 million to its sole shareholder, the government of Ghana as a dividend for the 2021 financial year.

The figure represents a 20 percent increase over the GH¢10 million paid in 2020 following an impressive performance of the company within the year under review.

Presenting the cheque to the government represented by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA) during the annual general meeting of Ghana Re PLC in Accra on Thursday, Board Chairman Mr George Otoo said the company’s financial performance improved massively in 2021 as against 2020 and committed to sustaining their upward growth in 2022 and beyond.

He said profit before tax recorded for the year 2021 was GH¢66.74 million compared with GH¢55.79 million in 2020, while profit after tax was GH¢51.73 million as against GH¢41.94 million recorded in 2020, Shareholder’s equity grew by 12 percent from GH¢387.76 million in 2020 to GH¢435.75 million in 2021.

“The company’s group composite (Life and General Business) gross premium income for 2021

was GH¢385.90 million representing a growth rate of 24 percent over GH¢311.56 million recorded in 2020.

General Business premium income for the year was GH¢359.90 and that of Life stood at GH¢26.58 million,” he stated.

He said management expenses for the period grew from the 2020 figure of GH¢56.19 million to GH¢66.47 million in 2021, an increase of 18 percent adding that expense ratio decreased from 22 percent in 2020 to 20 percent in 2021, largely due to prudent cost measures instituted by management.

“The company’s 2021 improved financial performance is testament to the board playing its supervisory role in the corporate governance structure of the company,” he stressed.

With the establishment of a regional office in Morocco last year, he said, the company had taken a giant step in their drive to expand into the North African market which would improve upon its fortunes in coming years.

The Director General at SIGA, Amb. Edward Boateng commended the company for running the business efficiently.

“At a point when we are saddened by the mismanagement within the state-owned

companies, Ghana Re PLC has ensured efficiency and accountability and must be commended,” he stated.

He added that other state-owned companies must replicate the performance of Ghana Re PLC to ensure the growth of the economy and the country at large.

“Ghana Re PLC should become an example of how state entities are management in this country as they have shown great leadership and set the standards for business management,” he said.

“State companies must be productive to ensure government moves forward as they are currently contributing very less to the economy as compared to the private companies,” he stated.

“We cannot continue managing our state institutions in a way that they remain unaccountable and inefficient. They should lead the charge for economic growth in the country,” he stressed.

He urged young entrepreneurs to take lessons from Ghana Re’s success story in order to become successful business owners.

That he said would go a long way to ensure wealth creation and decrease the over reliance on government for jobs.

Ghana Exim Bank Dep. CEO meets Mngt. of Wanis Int. Foods Following her participation in the maiden edition of Expo Ghana 2022, a business forum and special exhibition of Made-In-Ghana products recently held in London, United Kingdom, the Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Exim Bank (GEXIM), responsible for Banking and Business, Rosemary Beryl Archer, has met with management of Wanis International Foods.

The meeting took place on Tuesday 19th July 2022 at the head office of Wanis International Foods located in London and was facilitated by London

EDITOR: BENSON AFFUL editor@business24.com.gh | +233 545 516 133.

based international Marketing Communications Company and organisers of Expo Ghana 2022, Akwaaba UK. The visit was in fulfilment of the Bank’s functions outlined in the Ghana Export – Import Bank Act, 2016 (Act 911) to support and develop directly or indirectly trade between Ghana and other countries and build Ghana’s capacity and competitiveness in the international market place.

In addition, the Bank is mandated to plan, promote, develop and finance export-oriented

PUBLISHED BY BUSINESS24 LTD. TEL: 030 296 5297, 030 296 5315.

concerns as well as provide support for Small and Medium Enterprises engaged in agro-processing and export trade.

Sanjay Wadhwani, Director of Wanis International Foods, George Philips, Commercial Director and Paul Harrison, Head of Community received Ms. Archer. They explored the formation of a strategic partnership leading to market access for products of GEXIM sponsored Small and Medium Scale Enterprises as well as opportunities for manufacturers of Made-In-Ghana products in the United Kingdom.

Ms. Archer had a special tour of the wholesale cash and carry section of Wanis International Foods, which stocks in-demand foods from Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Mediterranean and USA as well as classic British products. The company has over eight thousand (8,000) UK and international grocery items on offer.

As one of Europe’s leading food and drink wholesalers with an unrivalled range of over ten thousand (10,000) world food products from over nine hundred (900) brands, Wanis International Foods currently distributes across the United Kingdom to supermarkets, wholesalers, independent retailers, online stores, restaurants and caterers of all sizes.

As part of the GEXIM’s mandate to support the Government of Ghana’s agenda to transform the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one, GEXIM provides support for local companies to produce quality and high standard goods for export. Over the years, GEXIM has introduced several key initiatives including the popular “Tuesday Market” which provides a platform to prepare SMEs to meet the demands of global buyers.