Skip to main content

Banks urged to help promote inter regional trade

 


Banks are being urged to leverage the enormous opportunities that abound in the area of trade finance to help promote trade among member countries on the continent.

This can be done by providing the financing that allows factories to expand and for businesses to make and receive payments.

Analysts believe that for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA) to succeed despite the initial challenges, players in the financial services sector, particularly banks, had a major role to play.

The Country Representative, Ghana International Bank (GHIB), Baafuor Ohene Abankwah, holds the view that there are huge opportunities for trade finance on the African continent, hence the need for banks to play a lead role to promote trade.

Abankwah, who is also the Head, Client Coverage Africa for the bank, said “here in Ghana, we have several products that are required in West Africa, and banks and financial institutions can do more to facilitate that”.
 
Trade finance training

He was sharing his thoughts in an interview with the media at the closing of a four-day trade finance training in Ghana.

Organised by GHIB, the training brought together 60 bankers from across six West African countries.

They were equipped with how to facilitate trade between the countries they represented and the rest of the world.

It also focused on various international trade finance products that banks could use in serving their customers.
 
Contribution 

Abankwah explained that his outfit had a role to play in building trade finance capacity, hence was passionate about organising such training programmes.  

Banks have an important role to play, and intentional efforts such as this training to make sure we work together to promote trade in Africa will really help," he said.

He said GHIB had contributed immensely to Ghana’s economy since its inception by working very closely with some banks in the Ghanaian space. 

The bank has facilitated the import of goods and the export of some of the commodities that Ghana produces. 

“GHIB has been at the heart of some of the biggest syndicated transactions that Ghana has been engaged in and has been involved in remittance flows in Ghana and West Africa,” he added.
 
Access to finance 

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Ghana Association of Banks (GAB), John Awuah, explained that despite the challenge in trade financing, banks were thriving to promote the concept.

He described the training as a timely one for experts in the banking industry to understand trade finance instruments that could help in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). 

The good thing about trade finance is that, it makes transaction costs a bit manageable because it is cheaper compared to conventional financing. 

“So trade finance products provide that bridge that enables businesses to access financing in a more cost-effective manner,” he said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Nestlé Ghana Limited Wins Overall Best Industrial Company Of The Year at 13th AGI Industry & Quality Awards

  Nestlé Ghana Limited has been honored with four prestigious awards at the 13th Association of Ghana Industry and Quality Awards ceremony. The event, held in an esteemed setting, gathered prominent figures from Ghana’s industrial sector. Amidst the anticipation, Nestlé Ghana emerged as one of the evening’s notable winners, securing accolades in several key categories. This recognition underscores Nestlé Ghana’s relentless pursuit of excellence and innovation, marking a significant milestone that highlights the company’s substantial contributions to the manufacturing industry in Ghana. Nestlé Ghana's exceptional performance was acknowledged with the following awards: Overall Best National Quality Award, Diamond Category (Food) Overall Best Practices in Sustainable Manufacturing Best Company (Food Sector) Overall Industrial Company of the Year, affirming its status as a leader not only within the food sector but also across Ghana's entire industrial landscape. This success is a ...

Anglogold Ashanti Obuasi Mine tops 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards

 AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine has confirmed its status as sustainability champions by sweeping nine awards, the most won by a company at the 2024 Sustainability & Social Investment Awards (SSI) held at Movenpick Ambassador Hotel in Accra. The feat comes on the heels of a dominant performance in last year's event where AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi Mine swept seven awards. The SSI Awards organised by Ianmatsun Global Services recognizes the most outstanding sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives in the country and beyond as well as the best teams and individuals who brought them to life. This year's event, which was the 8th edition, was under the theme "Climate Action Now: Accelerating Decarbonization and Building Resilience". The awards won by AngloGold Ashanti on the night include SSI Company of the Year, Best Company in Women Empowerment (project), SSI Company of the Year ( Environment), Best Co...

Zoomlion Advocates Community & Gender inclusive waste management for Climate Action at COP 29

 Africa's waste management giant, Zoomlion Ghana Limited has advocated for an integrated approach to waste management that considers the interest of community members, women and vulnerable groups. James Deku, a Communications Officer of Zoomlion Ghana Limited made this call at the 29th session of the Conference Of Parties (COP 29) of the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) at Azerbaijan, Baku whiles speaking on the topic "Community-Driven and Gender Inclusive approaches to waste management for Climate Action ". He said the waste sector is a major contributor of methane emissions which is a potent greenhouse gas causing climate change hence the need to manage waste in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Zoomlion's waste management model is designed and operated in a manner that considers the interest of all stakeholders. Through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) model, local authorities engage community members in clea...