News
A new dawn for Ghana’s Agribusiness sector and export value chain
Players within the agricultural sector and export value chain have a lot to cheer about following President John Dramani Mahama’s appointment of Hon. Sylvester Adinam Mensah as Acting Chief Executive of the country’s leading policy and development bank, the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM).
News of the appointment of the consummate finance professional and former senior banker, prominent for his expertise in public sector banking, fund management, strategic financial management, and governance with a proven record of accomplishment of delivering innovative financial solutions was received with excitement across various sectors.
The Ghana Export-Import Bank Act 2016 (Act 911) was promulgated to establish the Ghana Export – Import Bank with a mandate to facilitate international trade, improve export competitiveness, enhance foreign exchange earnings and improve balance of trade. In addition, the Bank is to play a pivotal role in Ghana’s quest for a feasible and sustainable export led economy.
Under Hon. Mensah’s leadership, the Bank’s core strategic direction, is expected to focus on prioritizing agribusiness and introducing carefully designed initiatives to bridge the export gap to foster Ghana’s greater participation in global export value chains, from small and medium-sized enterprises to larger corporations.
Over the years, agriculture has remained the major driver of Ghana’s economy and the primary way the majority of Ghanaians earn their living. As an agrarian economy, it has become important to focus on agribusiness in order to enhance the development of the value chain, and build the ecosystem to our advantage.
Agribusiness, as we are aware, examines the structure and organization of the agricultural food sector as well as the entire value chain extending from farm inputs, through on-farm businesses, to processing, transportation, credit and marketing.
In addition, Agribusiness plays a crucial role in the world economy, responsible for producing, packaging, preserving and distributing food and other agricultural products to consumers and industries worldwide. For this reason, we cannot afford to neglect agribusiness as a priority for the country.
Low and medium income countries always battle with currency depreciation due to unfavourable balance of trade (BoT) which also serves as a major indicator of economic growth potential and an important part of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). To reduce our trade deficit will require a bold step to increase exports to earn more foreign currency from the goods and services exported.
In realizing this, Ghanaian businesses are to be aided to leverage on innovation and technology to improve their processes to be able to compete favourably in the global marketplace.
This will ultimately lead to the building of local capacity, enormously contribute to Ghana’s industrialisation, and export drive agenda. Without a doubt, these will certainly culminate into job creation and the introduction of special purpose initiatives targeting the youth and women to benefit from jobs to bae created.
News
Ghana-Colombia strengthens ties through diplomatic engagement
In an important diplomatic engagement, the Colombian Ambassador to Ghana H.E. Daniel Garces Carabali paid a courtesy call on the Minister for the Interior, Muntaka Mohammed-Mubarak, at his office in Accra to discuss some key areas of collaboration.
The meeting focused on pressing issues, including security, decongestion of Ghana’s prisons, prison reform programmes, training programmes, improving the welfare of prisoners and enhancing disaster management in the country.
The courtesy call underscores the growing bilateral ties between Ghana and Colombia, building on previous engagements, such as the visit of the Colombian Vice President to Ghana in 2023.
The meeting demonstrates the commitment of both nations to fostering cooperation and addressing shared challenges.
News
Ghana to host African Catholic Journalists from August 10
The Union Catholique Africaine de la Presse (UCAP), also known as the African Catholic Union of the Press, in collaboration with the Catholic Association of Media Practitioners-Ghana (CAMP-G), is set to host its prestigious Triennial Congress from August 10 to 17 August, 2025.
The programme would be held at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA), Legon, Accra, Ghana.
This landmark event, the most significant gathering of Catholic journalists in Africa, will bring together media professionals, researchers, and experts in digital technology from across the continent and beyond.
The theme for the Congress is: “Balancing Technological Progress and the Preservation of Human Values in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
Congress Highlights
The UCAP Congress 2025 will feature discussions and deliberations on critical issues arising from or related to integral human development, particularly within the framework of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
Some of the key sub-themes to be addressed include:Corporate Social Responsibility in Managing the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Human Values, Deploying AI in Eco-friendly Business Start-ups in Africa: Opportunities and Challenges, Technology and the Reprogramming of Social Reality, Distortion of Reality in Social and Digital Media, Ecological Education and Action Against Unsustainable Exploitation of Natural Resources, and Media and the Promotion of the Recommendations of the Synod on Synodality in Africa.
Participants will include media professionals from both ecclesiastical and lay organisations, media researchers and academics, representatives from the Vatican, government agencies, NGOs, civil society, and the digital technology sector.
Objectives of the Congress
The primary goal of this Congress is to strengthen the capacities of media professionals and educate the public on the necessity of preserving human values amid rapid technological progress. Specific objectives include; Training 100 media practitioners in Artificial Intelligence and emerging technologies, with a focus on balancing innovation and human values.
This will include promoting ethics and bioethics in technical research and technological innovations through media.
Advocating for human values such as respect for life, human dignity, charity, solidarity, and human rights and assessing the impact of technological progress to better understand the challenges, risks, and opportunities presented by AI will be part of the objectives.
UCAP is a continental organisation dedicated to promoting communication within the Catholic Church and its partners in Africa. With a mission to foster spiritual growth, collaboration, and responsible journalism, UCAP works to spread the Gospel, uphold human values, and support developmental initiatives across Africa and beyond.
UCAP is an independent, autonomous, non-political, and non-profit organisation comprising African Catholic journalists, communicators, academics, researchers, and institutions in various media fields.
