Barclays Bank will continue supporting Ghana to achieve sustainable growth – MD
Mrs Patience Akyianu, the Managing Director of Barclays Bank, Ghana, has urged the Government to build an economy that rewards entrepreneurship, supports production and creates jobs.
She said the Bank would continue to support the business community, entrepreneurs and the Government to achieve sustainable development.
She said the Bank had transformed many lives and businesses with excellent banking services over the past 100 years it had been operating in Ghana.
Mrs Akyianu said this at the Sixth Edition of the Ghana Economic Forum in Accra on Monday, on the theme: “Building a Ghanaian Owned Economy, 60 years after Independence”.
The event was organised by the Business and Financial Times and partnered by the Ghana News Agency, EIB Media Group and Citi FM.
The Barclays Bank was the lead sponsor for the forum, which brought together business and economic gurus, policy-makers and policy think tanks to brainstorm on how to shape the country’s economic agenda for growth.
Issues discussed at the forum included; Investment in Ghana, the Energy, Agriculture and Insurance sectors and how Ghanaian businesses could take advantage of the macroeconomic stability to make gains.
It attracted more than 500 captains of industries and entrepreneurs across the country.
Mr Felix Meshiam, a participant and provider of agriculture services, told the GNA that he expected the forum to take concrete decisions that would support the agriculture sector.
He said agriculture was the backbone of the economy, therefore, government must create a conducive environment for farmers to sell their produce.
“The biggest challenge for our farmers now is lack of market to sell their produce and, therefore, results in post-harvest losses.
“Therefore government should take a serious look at providing accessible market for our farmers by ensuring that importation of certain food items like rice are reduced,” he said.
Mr Pious Abiou, a participant who works with an energy firm, said his company borrows from the domestic market and urged government to maintain and sustain the macroeconomic stability in order to inure to the benefit of the private sector.
Mr Ebenezer Gani, another participant, who works with an investment firm, expressed the hope that government would factor the small and medium-scale enterprises into the “One District, One Factory’’ initiative.
This, he said, would ensure that the financial resources that would be invested in the programme would be retained in the local economy.
Source: GNA