By Patience Gbeze
Accra, June 25, GNA -Stakeholders of the Black History Festival (BHF) have commemorated the heritage, arts, culture, trade, leadership, and innovation of Africa in the history of the United States of America at the just-ended Festival in Columbus Ohio, USA.
The Black History Festival is an initiative dedicated to the celebration of the strong ties between the Governments of the United States of America and the African Union member states.
The 2023 edition of the Festival was sponsored by the M & C Group in collaboration with COA Mixture.
This was in an official statement signed by Mr Lambert Donkor, the Media Liaison Officer of BHF and issued to GNA in Accra.
The statement quoted Mr Stephen Selasie Asuo, the Coordinator of the BHF, as saying that the Black History Festival platform was initiated to connect businesses, governments, private sector, and civil society in Africa and the United States.
He expressed the hope that the platform would become a strong bridge to bring people together to talk about commerce, trade, culture exchange, the strong diaspora and the future of Africa and the United States.
The former Minister and Senior Advisor to the President, Dr Yaw Osafo Maafo, said: “US and Africa relationship has gone through three major phases and there’s the need to bring on board the private sector businesses both in Ghana and the US.
“This idea of giving it a private sector dimension brings it to the taste of Americans and the Ghanaians, and the rest of the continent,” he explained.
He said some Africans in the diaspora also believed that if governments in power could create formal structures where the diaspora could invest without the fear of losing money, people would invest to make the African economy a strong one.
COP Maame Yaa Tiwa Addo-Danquah, the Executive Director of the Economic and Organised Crime Office (EOCO), assuring the diaspora, hinted that EOCO was so much interested in ensuring that investments in Ghana were protected.
She noted that EOCO had a website where due diligence were being carried out on potential investors to ensure they run no loss.
Mr Carlos Ahenkorah, Chairman of the Parliamentary Select Committee on Trade, Industry, and Tourism, said: “The leadership of Ghana is aware of the desire of many people in the diaspora to come back to establish businesses in Ghana but they are left in doubt about how to safeguard their investments.
“Those in the diaspora are our natives and if they decide to set up businesses in Ghana, it should be treated as domestic businesses,” he added.
Mr. Nathaniel Adisi, the Chief Executive Officer of EIB Network, called on stakeholders to pay attention to the creative bank in the showbiz industry in Ghana.
He said until recently many media houses were not paying attention to the music and arts from Africa, but now many great Television Shows played afro beats on their programmes.
Mr Adisi said: “Many clubs, restaurants, and events around the world take delight in African music and that alone should tell Ghanaians that there’s a renaissance and we must take advantage to position our great potential”.
Head of Diaspora at the Office of the President, Mr. Kwasi Awuah, on his part called for building on the foundations of the ‘’Year of Return and Beyond the Return’’ to achieve the necessary gains.
He said though very challenging in organizing such events, he believed colleagues both in Ghana and the diaspora needed to harness the great potential that the Black History Festival offered for a collective gain.
Mr Awal Mohammed, Minister for Tourism, Creative Arts, noted that Africa wanted to build a new partnership, a partnership with the US and other allies.
“A partnership that would add value to products on or from the continent. By our 70th Independence celebration, we should be able to lead the way with great innovations on the continent,” he added.
President and Group CEO of M & C Group, Mr. Michael Leslie Bartlett-Vanderpuje also called on corporations to support initiatives like the Black History Festival to make more impact and build ties between Africa’s bilateral partners, especially the USA.
Mr Bartlett-Vanderpuje noted that M & C Group as a business with international offices in Asia, America and Africa, had placed premium on expanding its reach to capture the global market.
“The conglomerate decided to support the festival because it carries the spirit of globalisation of industries, cultural heritage and digital transformation, which are the ideals needed for Africa to catch up with the rest of the trading blocs,” he said.
Plans for the third edition are underway and promises to be a bigger and better experience according to the organizers, Bureau for International Development, Exchanges and Commerce (BIDEC) and partners.
GNA