rLG leaps to top of Club 100 list

Mobile and Computer Company, rlg Communications has made it to the top spot on the Ghana Club 100 (GC 100) rankings, making it the first indigenous company to have achieved that laurel.
The company, a mobile and computer assembler, was second on the list of the first 100 most prestigious, profitable and growth-oriented businesses in the country in the 2011 rankings but moved to the premier spot in the 2012 edition as a result of its impressive turnover and growth in that financial year.

Goldfields, Enterprise Life Assurance Company Limited (ELAC), PBC Limited, MacDan Shipping Company Limited and Kasapreko Company Limited placed second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.

Other companies that made it at the bottom rung of the list were the Adoten Community Bank, Adum Rural Bank, Phoenix Life Insurance, North Kaneshie Forex Bureau and Polytank Ghana Limited in that order.

The 2012 rankings, which is the 13th, was announced last Friday at the Banquet Hall in Accra.

The GC 100 was introduced in 1998 by the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), the body that scouts for investments for the country, and had since remained a novel event that corporate Ghana looked out for on an annual basis.

This year's event was on the theme: 'Good Corporate Governance, Innovation and Entrepreneurship.'

Rural banks impress

Over the years, the GC 100 rankings have been dominated by multinationals and established brands in the country.

That is, however, beginning to wane as more indigenous businesses, especially the rural banks, make surprise entries into the club.

These banks, which operate mostly in deprived communities, have competed with the established companies for enviable spots on the list.

In this year's edition, for instance, about 20 of them were enlisted into the club, with some even displacing blue chip companies such as Guinness Ghana Breweries, Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited, GCB Bank Limited, Latex Foam Ghana Limited, among other corporate entities.

Some of the rural banks that made it into the list included the Amenfiman Rural Bank (35th position), Efiaseman Rural Bank (36th position), Lower Pra Rural Bank (41st position), Ahantaman Rural Bank (50th position) and Jauben Rural Bank (57th position).

In general, companies in the financial services sector dominated the list with over 60 entries.

Special awards

Special awards for innovation were also given to Kasapreko Company Limited, SOFTtribe and HPW, a fruit and agro-processing company.

In this special award category, PBC Limited, buyers of soft commodities, was adjudged the leader in the agriculture and agribusiness sector. IPMC also maintained its position as the leader in ICT education, with the Amenfiman Rural Bank becoming the leader in the rural bank category.

Multipro Private Limited, importers of indomie, was adjudged the best entrant and MacDan Shipping Company Limited, the fastest growing company in 2012.

Goldfields Ghana Limited, which was number two on the list, was also adjudged the highest tax payer and largest company in the country in 2012.

GIPC CEO's advice

The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Investment Promotion Council (GIPC), Mrs Mawuena Trebarh, said at the function that the business community needed to espouse characteristics of good corporate citizenship, explaining that although potential investors would always be interested in partnering companies that posted impressive turnovers over the years, they would, as well, be interested in those that have good records.

"It is also worthy to note that the dynamic and competitive nature of global business means investors are attracted to well-organised and positively ambitious companies because they have the potential for success and, therefore, attendant profit," she said.

The event was graced by former President Jerry John Rawlings, his wife, Nana Konadu Agyemang Rawlings, a host of government appointees and captains of industry.

By Maxwell Adombila Akalaare/Daily Graphic/Ghana