Maiden Ghana Business Leaders awards held in Accra
The government is determined to create a conducive environment for the private sector as part of its development agenda.
Among measures being pursued for businesses to thrive are e-Business registration and massive infrastructure development in the area of roads, railways, aviation and seaports beginning next year.
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This was disclosed by the Minister of Business Development, Dr Mohammed Awal when he deputised for the Senior Minister, Mr Yaw Osafo-Maafo, as Special Guest of Honour at the maiden Ghana Business Leaders Excellence Awards which took place at the Movenpick Ambassador Hotel.
Dr Awal observed that Small-Medium Enterprises (SME’s) constitute over 80 per cent of all businesses in the country and therefore played a vital role in the growth and development of the economy.
The minister bemoaned the lack of succession planning in most Ghanaian SME’s and urged businesses to plan their succession.
He said studies had shown that most companies did not survive beyond five years of the founder’s exit from the scene.
This state of affairs, he added, was a far cry from the multinationals which have survived for over 100 years through thick and thin on the back of effective succession planning.
The Awards ceremony which was organised by Top Brass Ghana under the distinguished patronage of the La Mantse, Nii Dr Kpobi Tettey-Tsuru III, was chaired by President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Nana Dr Appiagyei Dankawoso.
According to Mr Isaac Dakwa, Director of Top Brass Ghana, Oganisers of the Awards, the Ghana Business Leaders Excellence Awards Scheme had its origins in the Diamond Jubilee Business Leaders Excellence Awards.
He explained that within the context of the Ghana 60 Years On Anniversary programme to commemorate the Diamond Jubilee of Ghana’s Independence in 2017, Top Brass Ghana was mandated by the National Planning Committee to organise the Diamond Jubilee Business Leaders Excellence Awards which had now metamorphosed into the Ghana Business Leaders Excellence Awards.
He said the rationale for the Ghana Business Leaders Excellence Awards Scheme, to honour business moguls who have distinguished themselves across the spectrum of economic activity and made remarkable contributions to Ghana’s economic development.
The two-fold objective of the Ghana Business Leaders Excellence Awards Scheme is to encourage economic operators to optimise their quota towards national development and to motivate business enterprises and financial institutions in the quest for entrepreneurial excellence.
The Overall Ghana Business Leader Award went to Dr Tony Oteng-Gyasi, founding Chief Executive of Tropical Cable and Conductor Limited. Mr John Peter Amewu, former Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, was honoured with a Special Gold Award for his anti-galamsey crusade.
Among the award winners were also: Kwame Atta Acheampong (Attachy Construction Limited, Construction); Kwabena Adjei (Kasapreko Company Limited, Manufacturing/Alcoholic Beverages); Abdul Salam Akate (Akate Farms & Trading Co. Ltd, Agriculture/Poultry); Alfred Baku (Gold Fields Ghana Limited, Mining) and Benard Kwasi Dwomoh (Bentronic Production Limited, Agriculture/Agro-Chemicals).
Others were Haytham Fakhry (Interplast Limited, Manufacturing/ Building Materials); Stephen Sarfo Kantanka (Atwima Kwanwoma Rural Bank, Rural Banking); Alfred Korlie Matey (Freddy’s Corner Productions, ICT/Mobile Telephony).
The rest were Yvonne Nduom (Coconut Grove Regency Hotel, Tourism/ Hospitality); Paul Sekyere-Nyantakyi (MDS Lancet Laboratories Ltd, Healthcare/Medical Diagnostics); Mukesh Thakwani (B5 Plus Limited, Manufacturing/Steel Products) and Comfort Joyce Wireko-Brobby (Bibiani Logging & Lumber Company Limited, Timber Processing).