Business24 Newspaper 9 May 2022

GCB’s ambitious strategy on course - GCB Bank MD 05 NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

BUSINESS24.COM.G H | MONDAY, MAY 9, 202 2

Vodafone CEO wins overall best CEO for 03 private sector FCWC convenes stakeholders to discuss decent work in Ghana’s 03 fisheries sector

Food prices decreased in April, says FAO 02

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News/Editorial

Our bilateral treaties must reflect current demands of trade In this fast-evolving international trade environment, it is essential for Ghana to work collaboratively with its trade partners to develop bilateral cooperation tools that reflect the dynamics and needs of individual countries.

As a complaint and cooperative nation, the country has ratified a significant number of trade agreements and executed over a dozen of them with countries in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

In the wake of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), for instance, the state investments poacher, Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) is currently seeking to harmonise the regulatory regime of trade and investment, and taxation across African continent in a bid to develop one master document about all these areas.

It is therefore a good that the GIPC has commenced processes to renegotiate all existing treaties that are outdated and do not reflect the trade needs of various partner countries.

The topic was hugely discussed at this year’s Economic Counselors’ Dialogue is an annual event organized by the GIPC to bring economic, commercial, and trade counselors from diplomatic missions serving in Ghana to dialogue on issues affecting economic relations and the investment climate in Ghana.

Under BITs, the partie agree to international law standards for expropriation and compensation, free transfer of funds related to investments, fair and equitable treatment, and most-favourednation treatment.

Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) are one such means, and they are an essential tool for facilitating economic growth and addressing many of the level-playing-field issues that foreign investors face when doing business.

We agree that our bilateral trade agreements must be reflective of the needs of the local economy and its allied stakeholders, especially the business community.

Food prices decreased in April, says FAO

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World food commodity prices decreased in April after a large jump the previous month, led by modest declines in the prices of vegetable oils and cereals, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The FAO Food Price Index averaged 158.5 points in April 2022, down 0.8 percent from the all-time high reached in March.

The Index, which tracks monthly changes in the international prices of a basket of commonly-traded food commodities, remained 29.8 percent higher than in April 2021.

The FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index decreased by 5.7 percent in April, shedding almost a third of the increase registered in March, as demand rationing pushed down prices for palm, sunflower

and soy oils. Uncertainties about export availabilities out of Indonesia, the world’s leading palm oil exporter, contained further declines in international prices.

“The small decrease in the index is a welcome relief, particularly for low-income food-deficit countries, but still food prices remain close to their recent highs, reflecting persistent market tightness and posing a challenge to global food security for the most vulnerable,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero Cullen.

The FAO Cereal Price Index declined by 0.7 points in April, nudged down by a 3.0 percent decline in world maize prices.

International wheat prices,

strongly affected by continued blockage of ports in Ukraine and concerns over crop conditions in the United States of America but tempered by larger shipments from India and higher-thanexpected exports from the Russian Federation, increased by 0.2 percent. International rice prices increased by 2.3 percent from their March levels, buoyed by strong demand from China and the Near East.

Meanwhile, the FAO Sugar Price Index increased by 3.3 percent, buoyed by higher ethanol prices and concerns over the slow start of the 2022 harvest in Brazil, the world’s largest sugar exporter.

The FAO Meat Price Index increased by 2.2 percent from the previous month, setting a new record high, as prices rose for poultry, big and bovine meat.

Poultry meat prices were affected by disruptions to exports from Ukraine and rising avian influenza outbreaks in the Northern hemisphere. By contrast, ovine meat prices averaged marginally lower.

The FAO Dairy Price Index also was up, by 0.9 percent, on the back of persistent global supply tightness as milk output in Western Europe and Oceania continued to track below their seasonal levels. World butter prices rose the most, influenced by a surge in demand associated with the current shortage of sunflower oil and margarine.

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FCWC convenes stakeholders to discuss decent work in Ghana’s fisheries sector Regional fisheries sector nongovernmental organization, Fisheries Committee of West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) has held a one-day workshop for players in the domestic fisheries industry on how to promote decent work across the value chain.

The workshop brought together stakeholders across Ghana’s fishing sector to discuss options and obstacles to achieving safety and decent working conditions for all fish workers in Ghana.

It was a validation session to discuss findings of a fisheries sector report conducted by Dr. Vanessa Jaiteh from the University of Nottingham and hosted by the FCWC relating to the increasing concerns of social sustainable issues in fisheries within the West African coastline.

The study examined labour conditions and safety concerns of fishers in Ghana’s artisanal, semiindustrial and industrial sectors.

Findings from the report showed that about 97percent

of industrial fishers do not have contracts with same for the semiindustrial sector.

Their contracts are often like verbal agreements, so they are not formal. I believe it is in violation of Ghana’s labour laws and that is something that needs to be addressed.

Without contracts the crew will not know what they are going to be paid; so, they back to shore before finding out what they are going to be paid,” Dr. Jaiteh said.

Participants, comprised mostly of study target groups,

recommended the need for skilled manpower in the domestic fisheries business to engender decent labour practices across the value chain and to sustain the industry.

“In every enterprise or discipline, the human capital is key. The tuna industry could collapse should foreigners opt out of the business because of the absence of Ghanaians at the top echelon of the industry.

Unfortunately, we have stopped training of human resource for the fisheries industry. The few that have been trained are now out of the country and its one of the reasons why foreigners have a strong hold of the local fisheries industry,” said Mr. Daniel Owusu, an executive member of NAFAG. He added: “We are talking

a natural resource that provide about 60percent of animal protein to the people. It’s both a livelihood and security issue and so its sustenance should be in the hands of the indigenes.”

Bright Tsai, who is a fisher, shared some of common sufferings of sailors in the industrial, and semi-industrial sector, adding that the creation of unions have largely been discouraged by their superiors.

“Our crew managers put fear in the boatswains against joining unions. We are cautioned that we will have to take jobs from the union if we join them. Many of us have been sacked due to our union issues,” he narrated.

According to the Fisheries Management Advisor of FCWC, Abena Serwah Asante, the workshop formed part of activities of the organisation are intended to provoke positive policy creation that promotes sustainable fisheries.

Vodafone CEO wins overall best CEO for private sector The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Ghana, Patricia Obo-Nai, has been named the overall best Private Sector CEO at the maiden edition of the Ghana CEO Awards. Patricia also won the Best CEO for the Telecom Industry at the event held on Friday at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra.

Patricia who happens to be first Ghanaian CEO of Vodafone Ghana, has received many local and international honours for her innovative leadership. She is a staunch supporter of inclusivity, and believes in leveraging technological advancement for economic growth and development. She continues to underline the importance of technology in securing the continent’s participation in the digital economy.

These awards are the latest in a long line of local and international recognition. These include Africa’s Most Respected CEO in Telecoms (Dubai, UAE), Telecom CEO of the Year (Ghana Information Technology and Telecom Awards), Woman of the Year at

EMY Africa Awards, Telecom Personality of the Year (National Communications Awards), and HR-Oriented CEO of the Year (HR Focus Awards).

Speaking at the awards, Project Lead at the Ghana CEO Vision and Awards, Latif Abubakar, said the awards celebrate visionaries and appreciate game-changers.

“It is time to sell Ghana, and the maiden theme for this edition is Pitching Ghana to the World.

We are here to celebrate those visionaries who are going to help us pitch Ghana to the world.”

The first edition of the Ghana CEO Vision and Awards Project honoured 40 unique individuals.

Some of the award winners at the night included CEO of the YearCSR, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, CEO Vision Entrepreneur of the Year 2022, Mr. Ibrahim Mahama, CEO of the Year-Internet Service Provider, Mr. Amar Deep Singh (CEO, IPMC), CEO of the YearInnovative Energy Solutions, Prof.

Hugh K. Aryee, among others.

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GCB’s ambitious strategy on course - GCB Bank MD The Managing Director of GCB Bank PLC, Mr Kofi Adomakoh, has explained that the Bank’s stellar performance in the year 2021 is testament that the Bank’s ambitious strategy aimed at dominating the market is on course.

GCB Bank posted impressive financial results with profit before income tax increasing by 34 per cent in 2021. Growing from GH¢ 602 million in 2020 to GH¢810 million last year. GCB Bank also increased its total asset from GH¢15.5 billion in 2020 to GH¢18.3 billion in 2021, representing a growth of 18 per cent.

In his opening remarks at the Facts Behind the Figures programme organized by the Ghana Stock Exchange, Mr. Adomakoh stated that the Bank’s strategic ambition is to be the dominant player in the market and the best by every measure anchored around three strategic pillars of revenue growth and profitability, operational excellence, people and talents.

Mr. Adomakoh explained that the advent of Covid-19 highlighted the need for the Bank to accelerate the execution of its strategies and plans.

“Prior to the advent of Covid, the banking businesses had been disrupted by technology, but Covid also shocked the bank into accelerating the execution of its strategies and plans”. He stated.

“GCB Bank is currently the largest retail bank with a strong asset base, but despite the bank’s stronghold in

the retail market, a key part of our strategy is to expand our market share within the retail market space.

The bank has therefore revamped its technology, improved its human resources, and strengthened organizational rigour.” He added.

Mr Adomakoh also explained that the Bank is also seeking to improve

its performance in the wholesale and corporate banking segment by deepening the bank’s share of wallet.

On people and talents, Mr. Adomakoh explained that the bank has restructured, improved its human resources, and also brought in critical human resources to execute key elements of its strategy.

“The banking landscape has evolved and GCB’S grand agenda is to deliver strong value to its shareholders through excellence in every facet of the Bank’s operations.”

He stated.

Speaking at the event, Mr Socrates Afram, Deputy Managing Director of Finance, GCB Bank explained that an integral part of the bank’s performance was driven by real growth in the bank’s deposit base.

“The profit performance was achieved on the back of strong balance sheet growth underpinned by customer deposits growth.

Deposits growth funded increased investments in earning assets like Investment securities, loans and advances and interbank placements which generated the required interest income to boost revenue.” He stated.

“Aggressive recovery efforts also helped in releasing suspended interest into income from recoveries made on non-performing accounts” he explained.

Mr Afram added that one of the cardinal approaches to GCB Bank’s strategy was to “digifirst” and as such a business optimization unit was set up to identify redundancies and identify all processes that can be digitalized to make the bank nimbler and more responsive.

Explaining other factors that accounted for the bank’s performance, Mr Afram explained that the bank conducted detailed segmentation to re-align products and services to meet customer needs, expansion of the loan book and the development of robust digital platforms to deliver superior value.

“The bank also strengthened internal controls, established a firstclass security operations center, upgraded its core banking system from version 12.02 to 14.3, embarked on process automation to drive efficiency, and also attained PCI DSS certification to ensure high level card data security,” he added.

Op-Ed: Staying ahead of the curve - Absa Bank’s brand transformational journey The need for constant reinvention has become a running theme within the corridors of Absa Bank Ghana Limited.

Hypothetically, the brand is only two years old in Ghana; however, it’s unvarnished focus on meeting the bespoke needs of its clients and customers is proving cuttingedge across the industry. With over a century of banking heritage in Ghana due to its erstwhile Barclays image, Absa’s unique banking approach - relentless commitment to finding new ways of supporting key sectors of the economy, industries, SMEs, individuals, and households - is elevating the role of banks in economic transformation.

Recently, the bank became the first in the history of Ghana’s banking sector to cross the GHS1 billion mark in profitability (GHS1.1bn) and revenues (GHS1.6bn) when it announced its 2021 financial results last quarter.

The bank proved what was possible, despite economic challenges due to COVID-19, by recording a whopping 55% increase in Profits-before-tax (PBT) and a 17% jump in revenues.

“We focus on the basics of banking - our clients and customers are the reason we are in business. We understand our role as an enabler in making key sectors of the economy thrive, ensuring individuals and households feel empowered and supporting the communities in which we live and work,” said Managing Director Abena Osei-Poku.

Absa Bank’s transition and rebranding process in Ghana began earnestly in 2018. This followed Barclays’ decision to exit its Africa

business in 2017. It was not an easy task for the Ghana team back then; especially as it was almost beyond comprehension to attempt to transform over a century of brand value and reputation overnight.

However, Absa Ghana’s leadership team remained unperturbed.

“We were determined to leave a mark and transform the minds of the prospective and current customers in terms of the new positioning,” said Nana Essilfuah Tamakloe, Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations.

Steadily and progressively, the process went on and the formal launch took place in 2020. Abena’s words on the launch day was poignant and decisive.

“Today, we begin a new chapter as Absa Bank Ghana Limited, while we retain our 100-year heritage of indelible commitment to Ghana’s economic growth. Our new brand demonstrates our commitment to building a bank that is centered on growth for our people through the provision of financial resources, services and opportunities that connect their dreams to possibilities.”

In 2021, a year after entrenching the new identity, the brand value metrics proved that in one year the progress made was eye-catching. Total brand equity score fell only two points from equaling the figure Barclays recorded before the rebranding process.

Then came significant recognition from across a wide spectrum of acclaimed institutions including the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIMG) for Best Bank in Ghana, the Top Employer global platform for Number 3 Top employer in

Ghana and Number 1 in the banking sector. Others streamed in; the best customer-centric bank at the Global Business Outlook Awards and Best in SME at the Sustainability and Social Investments Awards.

As if these were enough, just recently, the highly regarded Middle East and Africa (MEA) Innovation Awards, named Absa Bank Ghana the best bank in trade finance in the sub-region due to a concerted effort by the corporate and investment banking (CIB) team to lead the way in trade financing for public and private institutions and organisations across West Africa.

The Awards mentioned Absa Bank’s consistency in delivering innovative and advanced product solutions to elevate the client experience. Absa Bank Ghana was the only subsidiary in the Absa Group to have won an individual award. The other awards went to Absa Group itself in three categories - best bank in Africa for Cash Management, Trade Finance and Finance Platform Initiative. Organisers of the MEA Innovation Awards lauded Absa Ghana for implementing a multifaceted digital approach to its trade management operations. The online solutions platform enables clients to initiate, receive and manage full life cycle of products and services under trade finance. The platform is utilized through the bank’s best in class Absa Access Online tool which gives clients a single access point for all services under corporate banking.

As Ellen Ohene-Afoakwa, Director of Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) at Absa Bank said

“Ultimately, our role is to facilitate convenience and ease of transactions for our clients and customers. The digital age has more than ever, influenced and transformed the way we operate as a business, and we are inspired to continuously create value for them. We owe this recognition to our clients for always having the confidence to stay with us.”

The MEA recognition is proof of the strength of Absa Bank’s Corporate and Institutional Banking (CIB) team in Ghana. The unit has been involved in a series of big-ticket deals across a variety of sectors including mining, agriculture, telecommunications, banking, and finance. Recently the bank was a lead manager of Ghana’s Cocoa Marketing Board’s syndication deal, worth over US1.5 billion.

There is a general recognition that the bank’s performance over this short period of existence in Ghana is testament to its dynamic leadership in Ghana with support from the Absa Group in South Africa. The brand is fast becoming mainstay amongst customers and the local communities where the business operates in Ghana.

“Long-term brand building is a process that requires concerted dedication, commitment and belief.

We have the right mindset and human resources to entrench the new brand image in the minds of both our current and prospective customers and we are committed to this,” said Nana Essilfuah Tamakloe, Director of Marketing and Corporate Relations.

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Corrupt people hate transparency – Dr Bawumia The Akufo-Addo government’s infusion of digitalization in the provision of government services as part of the fight against corruption is beginning to yield major results, with even more interventions planned to fight it even harder, Vice President Mahamudu Bawumia has stated.

The Vice President, who was speaking at the 2022 edition of the Annual Conference of the Institute of Internal Auditors (Ghana) in Accra on Thursday 5th May, 2022 emphasized that Government is “very, very committed” to the fight against corruption, and will continue to infuse digitalization into the operations of state institutions to ensure more transparency.

“Building strong institutions means putting in place the right systems and practices that ensure transparency and brings about efficiency. With this, although corruption may remain a chronic disease, transparency will be its vaccine to reduce the rate of spread. As the saying goes, our biggest disease is corruption and the vaccine is transparency. Corrupt people hate transparency,” he indicated.

Dr Bawumia explained that in its quest to deal ruthlessly with the menace of bribery and corruption, Government has since

2017 ensured the deployment of technology and digitalization with the twin aim of ensuring easier, affordable access, and as an anticorruption strategy.

“I would like to draw your attention to where we are as a country in our digitalisation process.

We have made tremendous progress in building the digital infrastructure that serves as the bedrock for our digitalised economy as part of the paradigm shift in our economic transformation.

“We approached the building of this digital infrastructure on the key pillars of standardising individual identification using the Ghana Card; solving the address and property systems using GhanaPostGPS; solving under-banking and bringing financial inclusion to most people through a robust mobile money and bank interoperability and digital payment platform; and integration of Government Databases and digitising public service delivery using the Ghana. gov platform.”

Citing the massive improvements in the revenues and performance of Government institutions which have embraced digitization, Dr Bawumia said “even more transparency” is going to be infused in order to “shine

a light into the dark recesses of corruption.”

“Already, we are seeing the impacts of these initiatives including efficient public service delivery by all Ministries, Departments and Agencies on the Ghana.gov portal, combatting corruption by removing the middle-man and “ghost names” in many transactions, bringing more Ghanaians into the formal sector, and driving domestic revenue mobilization, among others.

“If you take the Passport Office for instance, in 2017 there were about 16,000 applications for passports generating about Ghs1m. But with the advent of digitization, there were over 498,000 online applications in 2021, generating over Ghs56m.

Similar things are happening at the DVLA, the ports, and other institutions.

“Recently, due to the introduction of e-tickets, we recorded the highest gate proceeds from a football match in Ghana. We will continue to shine the light of transparency in all aspects of national life.”

The Vice President charged Internal Auditors to play their part in the fight against corruption, given their key role in the governance structure in institutions both public and

private.

“As internal auditors in a digitalised economy, your ability to provide independent assurance that public sector institutions’ risk management, governance and internal control processes are operating effectively depends first and foremost on your embracing and adoption of digital technology. It is critical for those responsible for governance to embrace digitalisation for survival and growth.

“In tune with the mission of the Institute of Internal Auditors, the internal audit function must be well-positioned to help organisations accomplish their objectives by providing insight and foresight. This, must be achieved by adopting the systematic disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance.”

The President of the Institute of Internal Auditors, Mrs Harriet Karikari, urged institutions to invest in the continued training of their internal audit staff to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in anticipating, identifying and providing remedies for any challenges.

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The promise of South African democracy

By Evan Lieberman At a time when many democracies are under threat, it is important to highlight the success stories. South Africa may not be the first country that comes to mind as a model democracy, but it should be. In the 28 years since apartheid ended in 1994, South Africa has developed a multiracial, pluralistic form of government that includes a multiparty parliament, independent judiciary, free press, robust civil society, and a broad social safety net.

One could easily assume the opposite. International press coverage of South Africa is often dominated by stories of violent crime and government corruption, giving much of the world a warped view of the country. And some local observers have gone so far as to label South Africa a “failed state.” But while South Africa certainly has its problems, the country looks nothing like actual failed states.

Moreover, we would do well to remember where the country started almost 30 years ago.

Between modern South Africa’s founding in 1909 and Nelson Mandela’s election as president in 1994, a racial minority maintained political supremacy by legal force and violence. The economy boomed for white people, but the black majority remained overwhelmingly poor, deprived of equal education and opportunities to work. The government restricted black people’s movement and lives even more thoroughly than the American South did under Jim Crow segregation.

The legacy of apartheid meant that when the African National Congress took power in 1994, living conditions were appallingly unequal. In the mid1990s, virtually the entire white population lived in modern

housing, with access to piped water, electricity, and other basic services. Less than half the black population lived in formal structures or had access to such services, and over 20% lived in flimsy metal shacks.

South Africa’s progress over the past quarter-century is reflected in how those numbers have improved. Today, approximately 80% of black people live in formal structures, 65% have direct access to piped water, and over 95% have access to electricity. Making headway on a promise written into South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution, the government built 3.2 million houses for the poor between 1994 and 2018.

Although millions still live in informal settlements, and though people often must wait years for a house, the government has made greater strides than most developing countries in providing suitable shelter for its citizens. The government has also provided cash grants to millions of the most vulnerable, keeping them out of extreme poverty.

South Africa’s post-apartheid trajectory is an example of “dignified development.” Across the divides of race, language, gender, sexual orientation, wealth, and disability status, people’s rights, voices, and histories have been enshrined in law and in practice, and vigorously defended by civil society.

Nonetheless, in recent years, South Africans have expressed increasing frustration with their system of government. In a 2015 Afrobarometer survey, just 48% of respondents said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the way democracy was working.

By 2018, that number declined to 42%, and by 2021, satisfaction eroded even further, to just 31% of those surveyed.

Although white South Africans

constitute less than 10% of the population, their continued economic dominance and international ties have made them important interlocutors in shaping global opinion about the country. And they are often the most critical of the government.

As a white South African man told me (after hearing my American accent), “[The ANC] made this country into a ball of shit.” I have heard similar sentiments from white residents throughout the country. When I surveyed adults aged 40 and older in one bellwether municipality in 2019, 55% of white people said life was worse today than under apartheid. Black South Africans tend to recognize much more progress. Nonetheless, 50% of black residents in that survey also said that things were better then, compared to just 40% who said things were better now.

South Africans of all races complain about government corruption, high crime, unemployment, and staggering economic inequality. Despite improvements, basic services still do not reach substantial segments of the population. These are valid and important concerns. But the broader point to remember is the remarkable degree of progress achieved under a democratic government in a country with an extraordinarily difficult past.

While widespread mistrust toward the government introduces the prospect that the country could succumb to a populist authoritarian like Donald Trump or Vladimir Putin, there is little evidence of such a turn so far. South Africa’s multiparty system has done a good job of representing a diversity of perspectives at all levels of government. Although the ANC has controlled the presidency since Mandela, many

of the most important cities and municipalities are governed by coalitions or other parties.

In some ways, South Africans’ expressions of disappointment, and even anger, are evidence of a functioning democracy.

Robust public debate about problems like corruption and economic inequality attests to the functioning of a free and vigorous press. Many of the biggest government scandals in recent years were uncovered by enterprising reporters; in case after case, public anger has led to parliamentary inquiries and sometimes to real change in the form of resignations, prosecutions, and policy reversals.

Rather than seeing these scandals as an indictment of South African democracy, we should take them as proof that the system is working. In authoritarian countries like Russia or China, most abuses of power never become public in the first place.

I have been traveling extensively in South Africa for three decades, and I am encouraged by its progress. I certainly don’t see a failed state. Is the country’s governance flawed? Of course.

Are its politics messy? Definitely.

No democracy is perfect, but South Africa offers a more hopeful vision than its critics – both internal and external – are willing to acknowledge.

In too many places around the world today, including the United States, populist authoritarians are winning hearts and minds with empty promises and rhetoric blaming the blameless for citizens’ frustrations. South Africa’s example of dignified, democratic development offers a realistic alternative for governing diverse societies.

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Digital technologies: key accelerator of agrifood systems transformation and rural development Digital agriculture has great potential to foster the transformation of agrifood systems and promote rural development, QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), emphasized today at the highlevel international conference Vision for the future: transition to digital agriculture, held in Azerbaijan.

“Data, digitalization and innovation are key accelerators to achieve this transformation and are the core of FAO’s actions across all our areas of work, in line with our mandate,” the DirectorGeneral said in the opening of the event.

FAO is supporting several countries to develop national digital agriculture strategies, which Qu described as “the first step to ensure delivery of meaningful services and data to people in rural areas, and to promote bottom-up technologydriven innovations.”

The Conference was convened by the Government of Azerbaijan with FAO’s support.

Azerbaijan has been a leader in this field, having introduced ambitious Electronic Agricultural Information System (EKTIS),

which allows the government to support the agricultural sector in a more transparent, targeted and swift manner.

“Azerbaijan is in the process of transforming the country’s agriculture to modern and digital agriculture,” said Inam Karimov, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in his opening remarks.

A host of ministers are participating in the forum designed to share global experiences, visions and developments in the area of agricultural and digital transformation, present the Azerbaijani e-agriculture model and seek to identify sustainable and inclusive pathways to accelerate the digital transformation of agrifood systems.

“Developing human capital is essential to unleash the potential of digital agriculture,” Qu said, pointing to FAO virtual learning centres and targeted digital literacy initiatives to strengthen the capacity of farmers and other actors to respond to the challenges. FAO has also helped Members develop e-governance tools such as identification systems for animal health and farm accountancy data networks, he added. FAO’s International

Platform for Digital Food and Agriculture will soon be fully operational, he noted. Other FAO initiatives include provision of digital public goods such as the Hand-in-Hand Geospatial Platform, the ongoing 1000 Digital Villages Initiative, the e-Agriculture Strategy Guide and other contributions to the UN Secretary-General’s Roadmap for Digital Cooperation.

“The challenges our agrifood systems face require our collective, efficient, effective and coherent action and response – we must do more, together,” said the Director-General, who will also make field visits in Azerbaijan during his official visit.

Ministerial Roundtable “In rural areas, digital technologies can be leveraged to address multiple market failures and facilitate smallholder farmers’ integration into markets,” Qu said in remarks at the Ministerial Roundtable that took place after the opening session.

FAO’s aim, he added, is to “massify” digital benefits to ensure no one is left behind, doing so through promoting the use and adoption of digital technologies and promoting a policy agenda and public investments. “The acceleration of digitalization in

agriculture must also safeguard basic human rights by ensuring affordable access to digital technologies, digital literacy and digital public goods for everyone.”

Convened by Minister Karimov, participants included the Deputy Prime Ministers of Kyrgyzstan and Poland, Ministers from Georgia, Moldova and Tajikistan, as well as the heads of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the FAO/IAEA Center on Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.

“Digital innovation can unlock employment opportunities, bridge the rural divide and empower youth and women” and can support evidencebased policy, planning and implementation to improve efficiency and reduce negative environmental impacts, FAO’s Director-General told them.

“FAO is committed to leveraging the potential of digital technologies to achieve the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment and a better life for all, leaving no one behind,” he added.

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Adding ‘Mom’ to my Resume I have been a student. I have been an intern. I have been unemployed and searching. I have been a full-time mom. I am a full-time ‘momployee’ now!

This basically describes my lifework journey. Every stage of these five roles undoubtedly brought me different heights of skills, expertise, and experiences that could be helpful to an employer.

But is the employer interested in my parenting skills? How will I handle the contemptuous and scornful eyeing from the panel at an interview if they get to the part on my CV that says, ‘I’m a Mom’? – Will they like that part on the most amazing job that I didn’t apply for?

I am responsible for every information on my resume; a formal document itemizing my qualifications for a role/position.

Emphasis on ‘qualifications’, which include my skills, achievements, experiences, proficiencies and all positive attributes.

Who comes to mind when you think of these qualities: great listener, skilled at time management, team player, and calm under pressure? Whether you thought of a mom or an employee, you’re absolutely right! Becoming a mother helps us develop new skills and hones the skills we already have. The experiences at home and work complement each other more than one might initially think.

Of course, ultimate power still lies in the hands and opinions of recruiters and HR departments.

Though the advocacy for motherhood to be recognised as a legitimate job that builds employable skills, hasn’t attracted the needed attention, it is a call in the right direction Will it be weird to add ‘mom’ to my CV? Whether motherhood ‘belongs’ on a resume is, of course, subjective. The question, instead, lies in whether mothers can reap tangible benefits for the addition of the title. Or whether some systemically entrenched biases around mums could produce the opposite effect.

There is a perception that

women with children don’t work as hard and are less committed to their jobs because they are distracted by their caregiving responsibilities. 41% of employed folks perceive working moms to be less devoted to their work, according to Bright Horizons 2018 Modern Family Index. This stereotype hurts not only women but also the companies who fall victim to believing it.

Do you know about the motherhood penalty? A term coined by sociologists, the concept of motherhood penalty argues that working mothers experience systematic disadvantages in the workplace, like less pay, decreased benefits, lack of perceived competence, and lack of commitment when compared to women without children.

As a mom, I can testify that some of my best negotiation, prioritisation, strategic thinking, problem solving, and organisation were done in my personal life. All these transferable skills help in my working life too.

I am fortunate and beyond grateful to still have a job and a career in Communications that I love. But tell me, who communicates better than African Moms? Verbal or otherwise, all body gestures of theirs send a message to the children, for which they need no assistance decoding!

Careers and motherhood are both work. Although the responsibilities are clearly different, both day jobs and parenting require experience and expertise. The skills learned in one facet of life can often be used to complement the other. These experiences at work and at home are a powerful combination and

can be seen as an advantage for employing working mothers.

Moms are the hardest workers I know. They’re loyal, intelligent, and devoted to their work and their children. If an organization trusts an employee to get the job done, employees will trust them, thus being loyal and supporting the company’s goals and objectives.

I have three years and five months of professional experience as a childless worker, and I have nine years of professional experience as a professional with a daughter. That makes twelve and a half years of relevant experience and expertise to bring to an organization.

My experience as a mother does not in any way devalue my experience as an employee. I plan to continue adding value through my learned experiences as a working parent because I love being an employee, but I love it more being a mom. It is not easy having to choose between the two.

Are we ready as a society, to start conversations around normalising practices that would help mothers address employment gaps due to parenting or family caregiving responsibilities?

The term MOM is universal except in the workforce, what can we do to move the dial forward?

Should we advertise from the getgo that we are working mothers and that we have additional strengths as employees? Motherhood is unambiguously positive, not to mention a common life choice; skills mothers use to keep families afloat are transferable to the workplace.

Unless it is required of dads

to use this statement, it puts the bias directly back on women.

Not to mention the folks that took breaks to care for elderly parents, deal with mental health, or just couldn’t land a job in a bad market.

What we may need to address is how hiring managers will see motherhood/fatherhood when positioned on a resume…if any wo(man) dares to add ‘MOM/DAD’ to a CV. Will it make a difference to add the prefix “single” - Single Mom or Single Dad! It takes a lot of resilience, patience, problem-solving, agility, energy, and more to be a mother.

Until it becomes acceptable to list motherhood among our professional qualifications, can we keep doing what we do best? managing schedules, teaching our children, excelling as household nurses and family financial controllers.

To the moms reading this, will you list out your mothering skills when next you’re updating your resume? Let the discussions continue within and outside the four walls of our offices.

Who knows? – the right ears may hear us!

Portia Oduro-Morrison Communications Officer, Stanbic Bank Ghana

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| NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

AU urges Ghana to start process to ratify the Social Protection Protocol Mr Lefhoko Kesamang, Senior Social Welfare Officer at the African Union Department of Social Affairs, has called on the Government to start the process to ratify the Social Protection Protocol, which seeks to protect the vulnerable by providing their basic needs.

He also urged the Government to ratify the African Union Protocol on Older Persons and the Disability Protocol to help deal with issues of inequality and poverty that plague many African countries.

“Ghana is doing very well already in these areas, ratifying the protocols will not put further stress on the government but will rather enhance its efforts,” he said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency.

Mr Kesamang, who was a resource person at a national workshop on promoting rights-

based legal frameworks on social protection in Africa on Thursday, said as at 2018, 11 countries had signed the AU Disability Protocol and three countries had ratified it.

The workshop, which brought together Civil Society Organisations, members of the African Platform for Social Protection (APSP), and officials from the African Union, was coordinated by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.

Ghana signed the AU Protocol on older persons on July 4, 2017 but is yet to be ratified.

Dr Tavengwa Nhongo, the Chairman of the APSP, said social protection was a right and not just about the poor or vulnerable but wealthy people also needed to be protected socially.

“Social Protection should not be considered as a handout,” he added.

Source: GNA

Gov’t providing infrastructure to boost e-learning, digitization through Smart Schools Project – Dr Adutwum Minister of Education, Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum says government is providing the needed infrastructure to boost e-learning and digitization of content for learners at all levels through The Smart Schools Project.

He explains that this will also allow primary and secondary students in rural areas to access adequate educational material despite limited facilities.

Speaking during the commissioning of five ultramodern studios at the Centre for National Distance Learning and Open Schooling (CENDLOS), Dr. Yaw Osei Adutwum noted that the government is committed to removing all barriers to virtual learning.

“We want to create smart schools that can compete with the rest of the world. Some of the schools we are operating here have more equipment than many of the schools that are run in the US. We are ahead of the curve because of how intentional about how our schools are opened. So what CENDLOS is going to do is to power the schools with tools and

content. CENDLOS is the engine for our smart schools.”

CENDLOS previously known as the President’s Special Initiative on Distance Learning (PSI-DL) was established in 2002.

It was tasked to regulate, control and advise on online education and open schooling.

CENDLOS, among other things, is responsible for the following: • Advise on, support and coordinate Open, Distance eLearning (ODeL) activities in partnership with the public and private sectors; • Harmonize and regulate ODeL in Ghana; • Package education and training for delivery through ODeL using ICT tools; • Support, coordinate and offer advice on ODeL activities; • Contribute to the establishment and operation of Open (Virtual) School & Open University Systems of education in Ghana; • Provide training in ODeL delivery and assist other institutions to adopt dualmode delivery

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| COMMENT/ANALYSIS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

Europe’s gas conundrum

By Daniel Gros In a matter of months, the European Union has reduced its dependence on Russian oil so much that it is now ready to impose an embargo. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has announced a plan to ban Russian crude oil imports to most of the EU in the next six months, and refined oil products by the end of the year. But to have a meaningful impact on Russia’s budget, Europe must also end its dependency on Russian gas. This will prove much more difficult to achieve.

Europe has managed to reduce its need for Russian oil quickly for a couple of reasons. Oil can easily be delivered by tanker, not just pipelines, and it is relatively easy to find new supplies on the world market. The problem is that it is also relatively easy to find enough new buyers – and Russia has plenty – to offset a large part of the losses from an EU embargo.

Gas is different. Europe needs natural gas to provide heat in winter and to serve as feedstock for the world’s largest chemical industry, which accounts for a significant share of EU exports.

And certain features of the natural-gas market will make it far more difficult and costlier to find alternatives to Russian supplies than it has been for oil.

For starters, because most natural-gas producers operate on long-term contracts with buyers, there is little spare production capacity outside Russia. While there are spot markets, where one can buy or sell limited

quantities of gas, their purpose is to redistribute existing supply or demand across regions, as needed, not to provide additional supply.

Nervous European energy ministers have visited various global gas producers, in the hope of convincing them to increase production. And major gas producers are happy to oblige. But they warn that it takes up to four years to launch new projects, and doing so makes commercial sense only if the customer is willing to sign a 20-year contract.

All of this means that, in the short run, the natural-gas supply is close to fixed. So, the only way to make up for a shortfall of Russian gas is through a combination of energy savings and increased imports.

Here, Europe will confront another challenge. Natural gas is costly to transport and difficult to store. Liquefied natural gas (LNG), which can be shipped, offers the main alternative to piped Russian gas, though it raises challenges of its own.

Once gas has been liquefied and loaded onto a special tanker, a few thousand extra miles of travel make little difference. This is the principal reason why the Asian and European LNG markets are integrated, with prices on the two continents usually moving closely together. Gas spot prices reached very high levels already last autumn, months before Russia invaded Ukraine, because a strong recovery in Asia drove up demand.

Before the war in Ukraine began, Europe was already importing almost as much LNG as piped gas. But if Europe wants to end its dependence on Russian gas, it must vastly increase these LNG imports. This will be costly because it means diverting shipments originally directed to Asia toward Europe. Luckily this will be technically possible owing to a profound asymmetry in LNG trade: It takes far longer to construct liquefaction facilities than to arrange for regasification.

When LNG arrives, importing countries merely have to heat up the liquid in the tankers. Energy specialists frequently point out that many countries do not have enough fixed LNG facilities to increase imports. But floating LNG terminals are also an option, and countries like Germany, France, and Italy are already taking advantage of it, ensuring that they can offload LNG when it arrives.

These flexible gasification facilities, together with a dense network of pipelines connecting most of the EU providers, offer some protection against Russian attempts to pick off individual countries. Europe has already shown solidarity on the issue.

When the Russian energy giant Gazprom recently stopped gas deliveries to Poland and Bulgaria, pipelines from Germany and Greece ensured that the two countries got what they needed.

The question is whether Europe will show the same resolve when all countries are under pressure.

Liquefaction facilities, on the other hand, are far more difficult to come by and take much longer to construct, because they require giant refrigerators that cool the gas to -160° Celsius. This has two politically important consequences.

Some hope that the United States can provide much-needed LNG to Europe. But the US is currently running its existing liquefaction plants at full capacity, and it would take several years to construct new facilities. As long as America’s export capacity is constrained, redirecting US deliveries from Asia to Europe will do nothing to reduce the excess demand in the combined EUAsia LNG market. For the US this has the advantage that domestic natural-gas prices have remained much lower than in either Europe or Asia.

The challenge of constructing LNG-liquefaction facilities also significantly raises the costs for Russia to try to export the gas Europe is no longer buying. For a number of years, Russia would be unable to sell the 140 billion cubic meters of natural gas that previously went to Europe each year.

If Europe is willing to pay the price of expensive LNG imports, it could thus severely undermine Russia’s ability to earn hard currency via gas exports. That would put a real dent in Vladimir Putin’s war budget.

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| NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

Bank launches stakeholder consultations for updated Integrated Safeguards System The African Development Bank has kicked off virtual consultations on its Integrated Safeguards System to adequately address emerging environmental and social issues.

The session for Anglophone West African countries, held on 21 April 2022, registered participants from Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone. Opening the event, the Director General of the Nigeria Country Department, Lamin Barrow, underscored the importance of these stakeholder consultations, noting that: “These consultations are being held in view of the great importance of soliciting their perspectives, insights and learning lessons from their experience to inform the update of the Integrated Safeguards System.”

As part of its commitment to continuously improve environmental and social management and governance, the Bank has prepared a draft of its updated Integrated Safeguards

System, which is being consulted upon with external stakeholders, including representatives from key government agencies in regional member countries, staff of project implementing units for Bank-financed operations and civil society organizations. These

During the discussions, participants welcomed the Bank’s efforts to harmonize its systems with the safeguards standards of other multi-lateral finance institutions and regional member countries, which would reduce the challenges borrowers

consultations are intended to solicit feedback and inputs from stakeholders in order to put in place relevant systems that fit with the policies and standards of peer institutions.

face when they submit funding applications, especially for cofinanced operations.

The participants also observed many improvements, such as the expansion of the policy to

cover 10 thematic areas; the project-focused and risk-based approach; and the provisions for both sovereign and non-sovereign operations under the same policy.

They recommended further consideration on some aspects, including harmonizing categorization and disclosure processes with country requirements; the environmental and social assessments of subprojects in financial intermediary transactions and simplifying the results-based financing instrument to allow for timely identification of safeguard instruments.

This 45-day stakeholder consultation will continue across other regions of Africa. The draft of the updated ISS can be accessed on: https://consultations.afdb. org/ and stakeholders are invited to submit their written comments to the email address: ISSConsultation@afdb.org(link sends e-mail) until 15 May 2022.

Ghana has been ranked the eighth richest country on the African continent.

The ranking publised on the website If worldpopulationreview. com, indicates that Ghana’s economy as at the end of 2021, was valued at US$74.26 billion, putting it ahead of Côte d’Ivoire, and Angola whose economies were valued at US$70.99 billion and US$66.49 billion respectively.

Ivory Coast and Angola were ranked the 9th and 10th richest countries on the continent behind Ghana.

With an economy valued at US$514 billion, Nigeria was ranked the richest country on the African Continent.

Meanwhile, with Ghana’s GDP valued at US$72 billion and a total population of over 31 million, Ghana’s current per capita income stands at US$2,322.

Some economists and development experts argue that GDP per capita is more important than GDP itself because it reflects how much of a country’s overall wealth actually trickles down to everyone.

Following Nigeria in the second

and third places were Egypt and South Africa with a total GDP of US$394 billion and US$329 billion respectively.

Below are the 10 richest countries in Africa: 1. Nigeria (US$514.05 billion) 2. Egypt (US$394.28 billion) 3. South Africa (US$329.53 billion) 4. Algeria (US$151.46 billion) 5. Morocco (US$124.00 billion) 6. Kenya (US$106.04 billion) 7. Ethiopia (US$93.97 billion) 8. Ghana (US$74.26 billion) 9. Côte d’Ivoire, (US$70.99 billion) 10. Angola (US$66.49 billion) The list put together by Statista saw Seychelles emerge as the African country with the highest GDP per capita.

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

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16

| NEWS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

17

| COMMENT/ANALYSIS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

Applications opened for startups in Ghana to pitch at Gitex Global and North Star competition The Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has opened applications for African startups to participate at the Gitex Global and North Star Pitch Competition.

The winner will get allexpenses paid trip to attend the event in Dubai and be exposed to global investors and mentors.

Startups have up to May 7, 2022 to apply to get shortlisted.

The North Star and Gitex Global teams are travelling across Africa to discover the best startups of

each African nation and spotlight the national winners in front of global investors, partners and media at North Star in Dubai from October 10th to 13th, 2022.

As part of the selection process for West Africa, the team will be connecting with startups in the local ecosystem in Ghana by May 13, 2022.

The Pitch event in Accra will also feature key talks and panels on business opportunities in Dubai and building bridges with

the ecosystem in Africa.

“The time has come for African startups to shine at the world’s largest tech + startup event. Our team is travelling across Africa to discover the best startups of each African nation and spotlight the winners in front of global audiences at North Star, taking place from 10-13 October 2022 in Dubai,” said Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) organisers of North Star and Gitex Global.

“On 13 May 2022, we will be in

Ghana where top 10 shortlisted startups will pitch live on stage and one winner will get the chance to be featured at North Star in Dubai, with complimentary flights & exhibition pod. The initiative in Ghana is held in partnership with Ghana Tech Lab and Innohub,” said Rozana Noja, Portfolio Director - North Star & GITEX GLOBAL.

Bolt rewards 100 drivers to mark May Day Many employees have in the last two years, despite the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, punched above their weight in accomplishing organisational goals.

While some get appreciated for their hard work, others have remained in obscurity.

During this period, many hardworking employees have also lost their jobs or are experiencing various challenges as the country and continent grapples with the economic impact and recovery from COVID-19.

But those who have kept pushing the limits during these tough times have made their organisations win and earned praises. Bolt is full of such heroes who continued believing in the ride-hailing opportunities amid lockdowns and restrictions.

Bolt celebrates Further Bolt can evidently say that many people across the country opted to sign up to drive with Bolt to make a living. And what a great decision that has been. Bolt celebrates these gallant men and women.

As the leading ride-hailing platform in Ghana, Bolt is also keen on giving drivers great value and a rewarding opportunity to impactfully serve riders.

In light of this, it has taken up the mantle to embark on inspiring ‘Driver Reward programmes’ offering thrilling discounts and weekly promos among others to benefit our drivers.

For Bolt, drivers are a key stakeholder and remain at the

centre of the business.

Golden triangle The Country Manager of Bolt Ghana, David Kotei Nikoi, said management of Bolt rewarded more than 100 drivers within the golden triangle across Ghana as part of the International Workers’ Day. The beneficiaries took home appliances such as fridges, gas cookers, microwaves, cookers, television, home theatres, kettles, and many others, for their impactful, gallant, and undisputed service rendered to riders and to Bolt as a brand.

“We do not take such heroes for granted because here at Bolt, who

we are, are because of them.

“We won’t do justice to this subject and such heroes to mark the handovers if we do not commend Philip Mensah, a Bolt driver who returned a whopping sum of GH¢30,000 found in his car back to the rider despite the country’s economic situation,” he said.

The Country Manager said the drivers would forever remain a priority at Bolt, and in line with this, the company will constantly look for ways to add more value to them.

He stated that drivers with Bolt will continue to earn good money with their vehicles every day.

“There is always Bolt around the corner so the next time you want to move around the city, request Bolt and contribute to adding value to their entrepreneurial journey.

“As the world concluded Workers’ Day, we celebrate all our stakeholders, especially drivers for the great work they continue to do in helping Bolt riders move around, smartly,” he added.

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| MARKET REVIEW

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

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

7.0%

Average GDP Growth for 2021

5.4%

2022 Projected GDP Growth

5.5%

BoG Policy Rate

17.0%

Weekly Interbank Interest Rate

16.78%

Inflation for February, 2022

19.4%

End Period Inflation Target – 2022

8.0%

Budget Deficit (% GDP) – Dec, 2021

9.7%

2022 Budget Deficit Target (%GDP)

7.4%

Public Debt (billion GH¢) – Dec, 2021

351.8

Debt to GDP Ratio – Dec, 2021

80.1%

STOCK MARKET REVIEW The Ghana Stock Exchange retreated for the week on the back of a decline in the price of 1 counter. The GSE Composite Index (GSE CI) lost 0.68 points (-0.03%) to close at 2,696.67 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) loss of 3.32%. The GSE Financial Stocks Index (GSE FI) also lost 1.23 points (-0.06%) to close at 2,219.66 points, reflecting year-to-date (YTD) gain of 3.15%.

Market capitalization declined marginally by 0.01% to close the week at GH¢64,040.47 million, from GH¢64,047.56 million at the close of the previous week.

This reflects YTD decrease of 0.71%.

Trading activity registered a total of 10,980,196 shares valued at GH¢10,983,012.32 changing hands, compared with 2,065,583 shares, valued at GH¢1,737,529 in the preceding week.

MTN dominated both volume and value of trades for the week, accounting for 98.57% and 98.54% of volume and value of shares traded respectively .

The market ended the week with no leader and 1 laggard as indicated on the table below.

THE CURRENCY MARKET The Cedi was flat against the USD for the week. It traded at GH¢7.1124/$, compared with GH¢7.1124/$ at week open, reflecting w/w and YTD depreciations of 0.00% and 15.55% respectively. This compares with YTD appreciation of 0.51% a year ago.

The Cedi appreciated against the GBP for the week.

It traded at GH¢9.1284/£, compared with GH¢9.2877/£ at week open, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 1.75% and 10.97% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 0.78% a year ago.

The Cedi also strengthened against the Euro for the week. It traded at GH¢7.6674/€, compared with GH¢7.6790/€ at week open, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 0.15% and 10.95% respectively.

This compares with YTD appreciation of 2.14% a year ago.

The Cedi again appreciated against the Canadian Dollar for the week. It opened at GH¢5.6380/C$ but closed at GH¢5.5915/C$, reflecting w/w appreciation and YTD depreciation of 0.83% and 15.20% respectively. This compares with YTD depreciation of 1.17% a year ago.

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES MARKET Government raised a sum of GH¢981.87 million for the week across the 91-Day, 182-Day and 364-Day Treasury Bills. This compared with GH¢777.59 million raised in the previous week.

The 91-Day Bill settled at 16.78% p.a., from 16.33% p.a. last week whilst the 182-Day Bill settled at 17.42% p.a., from 16.32% p.a. last week. The 364-Day Treasury Bill on the other hand settled at 19.67% p.a., from 18.85% p.a. recorded previously.

The table and graph below highlight primary market yields at close of the week.

19

| MARKET REVIEW

COMMODITY MARKET

BUSINESS TERM OF THE WEEK

Crude Oil prices slipped for the week, posting a weekly loss of nearly 3.12%, on the prospect of weaker global growth, higher interest rates and COVID-19 lockdowns in China hurting demand, even as the European Union considers a ban on Russian oil that would tighten supply.

Brent futures traded at US$108.21 a barrel on Friday, compared to US$111.70 at week open. This reflects w/w loss and YTD gain of 3.12% and 39.12% respectively.

Gold prices fell 2% for the week and was set for its biggest weekly decline since mid-March as signs of faster policy tightening by the U.S. Federal Reserve lifted Treasury yields and the dollar. Gold settled at US$1,934.30 from US$1,974.90 last week, reflecting w/w loss and YTD appreciation of 2.06% and 5.78% respectively.

Prices of Cocoa declined for the week. The commodity traded at US$2,506.00 per tonne on Friday, from US$2,583.00 last week, reflecting w/w and YTD losses of 2.98% and 0.56% respectively.

Limit-on-Open (LOO) Order: A limit-on-open (LOO) order is a type of limit order to buy or sell shares at the market open if the market price meets the limit’s condition. This type of order is good only for the market opening and does not last for the whole trading day.

INTERNTIONAL COMMODITIES PRICES

Source: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/l/ limitonopenorder.asp

ABOUT CIDAN 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.

WWW.BUSINESS24.COM.GH

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NO. B24/317 | NEWS FOR BUSINESS LEADERS

MONDAY, MAY 9, 2022

FAO and the World Food Forum launch Young Scientists Group The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Food Forum (WFF) have launched the WFF’s firstever cohort of the Young Scientists Group and called for applications to the second edition of the WFF Transformative Research Challenge.

The initiatives were presented at a side event this week at the multistakeholder Forum on Science, Technology and Innovation for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), titled “Youth-led solutions for a better food future.” The side event highlighted the essential role of young scientists in identifying and scaling up innovative solutions to achieve the SDGs and positive agrifood systems transformation, with a specific focus on the 2022 WFF theme “Healthy diets. Healthy Planet”.

“Young researchers have the potential to bring massive impact,” said Jayathma Wickramanayake, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Youth in her opening remarks to the event.

“We are counting on youth to drive change,” said Ismahane Elouafi, FAO Chief Scientist.

The WFF Young Scientists Group consists of 20 young scientists from around the world who will provide scientific evidence and technical knowledge to the various initiatives of the WFF as well as develop an annual WFF Young Scientists report on specific policy issues that are of particular concern to youth, related to agrifood systems transformation.

The 2022 YSG cohort announced at the event includes:

Kim Anastasiou, Australia; Peter Asare-Nuamah, Ghana; Craig Chibanda, Zimbabwe; Shulang Fei, China; Imad Antoine Ibrahim, Lebanon; Alice Karanja, Kenya; Pacem Kotchofa, Benin; Lethicia Magno, Brazil; Clarity Mapengo, Zimbabwe; Sarah I. Murphy, USA; Ram Neupane, Nepal; Dinesh Panday, Nepal; Elisa Quaranta, Italy; Abdulkareem Raheem, Nigeria; Andrea Rosso, Italy; Michael Ruggeri, Italy; Jiang Shangchuan, China; Joanna Trewern, UK; Edy Trihatmoko, Indonesia; and Ambrogio Zanzi, Italy.

“This community of young scientists better understands the needs, feelings and concerns of youth, and are also an important source of energy, capable of mobilizing critical mass for just causes,” said event speaker Ibrahima Hathie, who is one of the 15 scientists appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres to draft the 2023 Global Sustainable Development Report.

“The Young Scientists Group has come to stay to provide reliable credible and policy-based initiatives,” said YSG cohort member Peter Asare-Nuamah. “The group is an opportunity for us to learn by contributing to global challenges such as climate change and food security. Therefore, we must be strong. We must be confident that we can change the narrative.”

In addition to launching the Young Scientists Group at the side event, the WFF also announced an open call for applications for the 2022 Transformative Research Challenge (TRC), a research competition designed to foster and

promote innovation in sustainable development to end hunger and transform agrifood systems.

Last year’s TRC winner, Nafn Amdar, invited young and young-atheart researchers to submit a twopage concept note proposing an innovative research idea focusing on issues related to healthy diets and climate action. The deadline for applications is 6 June 2022.

Shortlisted entrants will receive expert mentorship to help translate their concepts into sound research papers and present them at the WFF global stage in October 2022.

About the World Food Forum Launched in 2021, the World Food Forum (WFF) is an independent global network of partners facilitated

by FAO. It was created for and is led by youth to spark a global movement that empowers young people to actively shape our agrifood systems with the aim to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and a better food future for all.

The WFF serves as the premier platform to engage and harness the passion of youth to galvanize action and identify solutions to the growing challenges facing our agrifood systems. It convenes and connects major youth groups, influencers, companies, academic institutions, non-profits, governments, media and the public to drive awareness, foster engagement and advocacy, and mobilize resources in support of agrifood systems transformation.

Featuring a range of interactive online events, networks and content platforms, the WFF is organized around four thematic tracks: Youth action, Innovation, Education and Culture. In 2021, The WFF brought together more than 40,000 young and young-at-heart people from around the world, and over 75 youth and youth-allied partners from all sectors.

Emirates will showcase its full Premium Economy Class offering at ATM Emirates will be unveiling its full Premium Economy cabin experience from 9-12 May at Arabian Travel Market 2022 (ATM).

The region’s leading travel and tourism exhibition is expected to welcome 20,000 visitors this year, with the theme of ‘The future of international travel and tourism’, and Emirates’ iconic presence at the event this year will be fittingly themed ‘The future is now’.

The Emirates stand will also offer members of the travel and tourism industry from over 112 countries a chance to experience the airline’s signature products in every cabin

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

class.

Over ATM’s four days, Emirates’ executives and commercial teams will be at the airline’s stand with a busy agenda of face-to-face business meetings, taking the opportunity to network and reconnect with travel trade industry partners, and establishing new partnerships in line with the airline’s work to help the industry collectively rebuild better for the future.

The highly popular Emirates Premium Economy seat which will be on display at ATM is a luxurious take on the traditional cabin, providing more comfort with legroom of up to

40 inches, wide seats that span 19.5 inches with a generous 8 inch recline, and other thoughtful touches for customers to comfortably sit back and relax.

In addition, Emirates will also feature its show-stopping Boeing 777-300ER game-changer First Class fully enclosed private suite, Boeing 777 Business Class seat, newest generation A380 Onboard Lounge, along with other iconic products such the First Class Shower Spa and its generously pitched game-changer Economy Class seats.

The Emirates stand is located in Hall 3, stand number ME3210 at ATM.

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