Made-In-Ghana Ambassador urges support for local products
Made-In-Ghana Ambassador, Emelia Arthur, has urged Ghanaians to take pride in their national heritage and consciously patronise made-in-Ghana products and services.
She urged the public to be mindful of the significance of March as a time to celebrate the nation as a people and everything the people hoped to become “because we attained political independence in that month 65 years ago”.
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“To us Ghanaians, the importance of Independence has never dwindled, wavered or waned. So our passion for locally-manufactured products must climb higher and serve as a major drive for economic growth and prosperity,” Ms Arthur said at an interaction with the media in Accra.
Ms Arthur, who was made an official Made-In-Ghana Ambassador by the Ministry of Trade and Industry in January 2016, has since been an active campaigner in support of the manufacture and patronage of local goods to create jobs, improve physical infrastructure and the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
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The gospel singer also hosts the Ghanaian Kitchen on Homebase TV where she emphasises healthy cooking with Ghanaian produce.
She has spoken in churches, mosques and marketplaces for better patronage of local enterprises and services.
“Radio, television, print and online outlets have daily spots for sports, entertainment, politics, international news, education, health and other sectors. My plea with each of them is to include a daily spot for made-in-Ghana products or services,” Ms Arthur stated.
She urged banks to make capital more accessible to local producers and encouraged state outfits to lean more towards local content in their procurement processes.
She appealed to local producers to always be mindful of the quality of what they put out, saying a single dissatisfied consumer could translate into the loss of many more.
On the other hand, she stressed, a happy consumer could also tell other potential customers and increase business for the producer.
Quality, not foreign
“I think what people really desire is quality stuff and not necessarily foreign stuff. People tire so much to make money, so it is up to manufacturers to also do their best to offer items that make consumers happy,” Ms Arthur stressed.
She said the overall quality of made-in-Ghana products was getting better all the time, and that brands fared well on the international market when patronage and support for the items were high in their countries of origin.
“We have adequate substitutes for many of the things we import. So let’s patronise local goods for the countless benefits we stand to gain from doing so,” Ms Arthur added.