The Country Manager of Invest In Africa, Sam Brandful, has paid a courtesy call on the Business & Financial Times (B&FT) as part of a media engagement programme to foster links with media houses in Accra.
Invest In Africa is an independent non-profit organisation established in 2012 to actively support investment in Africa and develop local enterprises, with Ghana as its priority market.
Mr. Brandful shared with the newspaper Invest In Africa’s mandate to create a better way of working in Africa by building partnerships between international investors and local businesses.
He said this will be achieved by raising the profile of quality SMEs in the country to make it easier for international investors to find the best local firms to partner with.
He said IIA will also offer those local SME critical business skills training to help them become even more internationally competitive and support the local content agenda of the country.
He said as part of efforts to forge strong and sustainable links between local suppliers and investors, Invest In Africa will launch an online database known as the African Partner Pool (APP) later this year for local suppliers/businesses across sectors.
This will serve as a platform to gain visibility for Ghanaian SMEs and connect them with potential foreign and domestic clients. The African Partner Pool will also offer business skills and management training to help achieve its aim of attracting greater investment to Ghana and local SMEs while raising competiveness.
Mr. Brandful said the goal of the APP is to help international companies and purchasers to identify suitable and credible local partners/suppliers, who have the potential to meet best practice of international standards.
He added that the web-based directory will add value through Invest In Africa’s partners by providing training, mentoring and coaching to managers of selected businesses, as well as supporting their ultimate aim to become globally competitive.
In its resolve to find practical solutions to the shared challenges of operating on the continent, Invest In Africa sponsored qualitative and quantitative research to unearth the main obstacles Ghanaian SMEs and entrepreneurs face in growing their businesses.
According to the findings, a major challenge SMEs encountered is a huge information and communication gap between multinational corporations and local suppliers -- including a lack of awareness about credible local firms by multinational companies and basic challenges for local firms in accessing tenders.
In response to this, Mr. Brandful said APP seeks to create greater awareness of investors’ supply chain procedures, encouraging a more inclusive approach and the much-sought-after visibility for those providing the goods and services.
The Country Manager went on to give examples of other activities the organisation has initiated to fulfil its results-driven mandate, including hosting Ghana Investment Promotion Centre’s roundtable discussions focused on energy and infrastructure in London and South Africa, and working with the African Development Bank toward securing funding for further business skills training in Ghana.
He said although IIA’s objective is to proactively promote growth and development in the private sector, it also recognises the pivotal role that the government plays in creating the right environment for businesses to flourish -- particularly with regard to policymaking and legislation -- which is why IIA partnered with leading private sector companies, alongside key public sector institutions such as the GIPC and Association of Ghana Industries (AGI).
Mr. Brandful expressed his gratitude to the B&FT team and added that he sees the media as an important ally in Invest In Africa’s quest to open communication channels and create awareness of ways to improve the business and investment climate in Ghana.
Editor of the B&FT William Selassy Adjadogo commended IIA for taking up the critical subject of boosting SME performance for economic growth and job-creation. He pledged the paper’s support for IIA as it embarks on its groundbreaking initiatives.
IIA is supported by an increasing number of partners made up of Tullow Oil, EY (formerly Ernst & Young), Lonrho and Ecobank as global partners; while GIPC, AGI, UT Bank, Guinness Ghana Breweries Limited (GGBL) and AB & David Law make up the group of local partners.
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