Accra, March 30,GNA-The International Chamber of Commerce(ICC) Ghana has eulogized Alhaji Asoma Banda, saying his life’s work remains a beacon for future generations of entrepreneurs and leaders.
Alhaji Asoma Banda, Founding Chairman of ICC Ghana, and an entrepreneur extraordinaire, died on 01 March 2025. He was 91.
The tribute under the hand of Mr Emmanuel Doni Kwame, Secretary General of ICC Ghana, and copied to the Ghana News Agency, recounted some of the achievements of the business mogul who touched many lives in Ghana and abroad.
It said:” Very sadly, we had to succumb to the implications of the news of the last voyage on earth of the transport mogul that Alhaji Asoma Abu Banda, our founder and prime mover was.
In the run-up to Ghana’s independence, Alhaji was known to have taken on the gruelling task of buying cattle from the Sahel provinces of our sub-region and transporting them to Kumasi.
This underscored for him first-hand, the undeniable need to adopt cooperation as a key factor to promote international commerce even in those days.
Happily, as a fully-fledged pioneering force in international shipping, land transport, and aviation, Alhaji Banda exemplified fortuitously, the very principles upon which the ICC International was founded namely—promoting trade, fostering economic growth, and advancing global prosperity.
Through his visionary leadership, Alhaji strengthened Ghana’s position as a key player in international commerce, bridging markets and connecting industries with an unwavering commitment to excellence.
It is in this context that Alhaji gathered a small group of lawyers and other firmly established professionals regularly, to prepare for the formation of ICC Ghana.
Having seen to the crafting of the required vessel, ICC Ghana set sail on its maiden trip towards the international haven where efforts are made for ‘everyone, every day and everywhere’ , to promote ‘open international trade and investment systems that foster peace, prosperity and opportunity for all.’
The results of all those efforts have been phenomenal. Indeed, it was in the thick of the preparations for the Second ICC Ghana Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution Day (ADR) that Alhaji passed after our Secretary General had seen him resting at home only a few days earlier.
A fitting award which was planned to be presented to him at the event in his most revered capacity as the founder of ICC Ghana, has since been given to his widow, Mrs Baaba Banda posthumously at their home by a high-powered ICC Ghana delegation.
In shipping in particular, Alhaji’s contributions were monumental, ensuring that Ghana became a strategic hub in global maritime trade. His impact on land transport revolutionised mobility, facilitating the seamless movement of goods and people.
In aviation, he championed connectivity, expanding Ghana’s presence in the skies and linking businesses across continents.
Beyond his corporate success, Alhaji Banda’s philanthropic legacy was unparalleled. His investments in education, healthcare, and social development transformed countless lives.
He understood that true progress is measured not only by economic success but also by the upliftment of society’s most vulnerable. His generosity and service to humanity reflected the highest ideals of ethical business leadership.
The ICC Ghana reaffirms its commitment to the principles he so passionately upheld—free and fair trade, business integrity, and sustainable development.
His life’s work remains a beacon for future generations of entrepreneurs and leaders.
His insistence on placing Ghana first whenever he could was immortalised in his submission to the World Council of the International Chamber of Commerce on the appointment of the Secretary-General at the ICC Headquarters in Paris, John Danilovich, Former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation.
Alhaji, very persuasively argued that though John Danilovich had served as the US Ambassador to the UK, as a recipient of the Order of the Volta of Ghana, and as former CEO of the Millennium Challenge Corporation which did so much good in Ghana as MIDA. John Danilovich had the most important qualifications needed for the role of the Secretary-General of the global body.
In shipping, Alhaji’s contributions were also monumental, ensuring that Ghana became a strategic hub in global maritime trade. His impact on land transport revolutionized mobility, facilitating the seamless movement of goods and people.
In aviation, he championed connectivity, expanding Ghana’s presence in the skies and linking businesses across continents.
Beyond his corporate success, Alhaji Banda’s philanthropic legacy was unparalleled. His investments in education, healthcare, and social development transformed countless lives.
He understood that true progress is measured not only by economic success but by the upliftment of society’s most vulnerable. His generosity and service to humanity reflected the highest ideals of ethical business leadership.
ICC Ghana reaffirms its commitment to the principles he so passionately upheld—free and fair trade, business integrity, and sustainable development.
As we honour his memory, we note that we are paying tribute to a distinguished business leader, a trailblazer in global commerce, and a philanthropist of extraordinary generosity.
His passing represents an irreplaceable loss, not only to Ghana but to the global business community.
Alhaji Asoma Abu Banda fell with the abiding faith that the guiding spirit he represented and the footsteps he was leaving on the sands of time, would serve as a trusted mariner’s chart for all those who might travel without the fear of losing their way on the uncharted waters, land and airways of modern international trade.”
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