By Patrick Ofoe Nudzi
Accra, Aug. 13, GNA – His Royal Majesty King Tackie Tsuru II, Ga Mantse, has urged business owners and operators to take advantage of opportunities Homowo festival presents to build business partnerships and synergies.
He asked entrepreneurs to use the opportunity to share knowledge and build capacity to penetrate the intra-continental market through the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
King Tackie Tsuru II said this at the first day of the two-day business summit dubbed: “Mantse Amugi Business Africa 2022,” organised by the Office of the Ga Mantse Palace in collaboration with the Accra Metropolitan Assembly to mark this year’s celebration of Homowo.
The summit afforded small and medium enterprises the opportunity to exhibit their products at the forecourt of the Assembly.
The event brought together business owners and operators, traders, producers and manufacturers.
Others were traditional leaders, government officials, and officials from AfCFTA, including Mr Wamkele Mene, Secretary General of AfCFTA.
The King underscored the importance of partnerships in business and urged young entrepreneurs to pool resources to penetrate the international market
” My friend and I here started a business with only GHC 1 and about three years in the business we were making about GHC 300, 000 every month,” he said.
“We had about 400 workers all over Ghana and that’s why I am saying it is important for some of us to take AfCFTA seriously well.”
He also asked that the celebration be used as a tool for reconciliation and support for the needy.
Madam Elizabeth Kwatsoe Tawiah Sackey, Mayor of Accra, in her welcome address said, the business forum could present new ideas and urged participants to embrace it and tap into one another’s expertise.
She said it was the time to solidify businesses and petty trading to impact the lives of families, communities and Ghana as a whole taking into consideration the twists and turns of the business environment.
Mr Mene said the Secretariat was committed to positioning Ghana and Accra as the trade and commercial centre of the African continent.
He said Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and young investors in Accra should take advantage of the Agreement and penetrate beyond the ECOWAS market.
“…And so your deliberations today must be focused on strategies to benefit from the AfCFTA where we trade more amongst ourselves with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of $3.4 trillion,” Mr Mene said.
GNA