The Kwahu Business Forum, an initiative by President John Dramani Mahama to grow local businesses is set to open on April 19, 2025 in Mpraeso.
The forum is designed to serve as a platform for dialogue between financial institutions and private sector players.
It would also highlight investment opportunities, discuss policy interventions, and chart a path towards building a more resilient and competitive business landscape in the country.
Briefing the media yesterday at the Presidency, Accra, ahead of the forum, the Chief of Staff at the Office of the President, Julius Debrah, said the initiative would help develop more small and medium enterprises.
According to Mr Debrah, the target groups are businesses in the areas of agro-processing, manufacturing and enterprises that are tangible for exports.
This, the Chief of Staff said, would feed into President Mahama’s vision of leading accelerated export of Ghanaian products to other countries in the subregion and beyond.
He said the concept was borne out of President Mahama’s resolve to grow Ghanaian businesses which informed his engagement with the businessmen last year during the 2024 electioneering campaign.
“Luckily enough, he has won the election and wants to be a president who walks the talk. So as part of fulfilling his promise to the people he met last year, (he’s going back to meet with them to discuss what they had talked of last year)”, the Chief of Staff said.
Almost all the financial institutions including the African Development Bank, Mr Debrah said, have agreed to participate in the forum so as to explore which enterprises they could support.
He explained that the form of the forum would be in segments for specific sectors and exhibition of wares and products of participants.
“We are talking about this forum at the Presidency because of the importance the President attaches to it. It is a project he wants to see succeed,” Mr Debrah emphasized.
He said the strategy is that each bank would pick at least five bankable projects, nurture them and present a progress report on them a year on.
Mr Debrah estimated that over 600 sustainable businesses would be built up in the next five years if the project was sustained.
Youth-led businesses, the Chief of Staff said would be given special attention to develop to create jobs for their teeming unemployed colleagues.
“This is all about how to grow businesses under President Mahama’s watch because with the private sector growing, not much will happen,” he stated.
BY JULIUS YAO PETETSI
