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Students urged to be innovative, address socio-economic challenges

Mr Noah Gyemah[right] interacting with Prof Amevi Acakpovi, Mr Kwesi Agyei Sarfo[second from left]

and Mr jeffery Yeboah Frimpong. Photo Lizzy Okai

The Chief Investment Officer for Jospong Group of Companies, Mr Noah Gyimah has urged students to be innovative and assist in addressing socio-economic challenges in Africa.

He said, innovation plays a crucial role in addressing socio-economic challenges in Africa such as poverty, healthcare accessibility, education, infrastructure development and technology.

He was speaking at the first of Chief Executive Officers’ (CEOs) lecture series by the Accra Technical University (ATU) as part of activities to mark its 75th anniversary celebrations.

His presentation on behalf of the Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph Siaw Agyepong was under the theme “Impacting Society and Driving Innovation-The Story of the Jospong Group of Companies.”

He said, innovators must think about problems within the country and provide solutions which would essentially help create jobs and boost the economy.

“Young people need to have self-urgency to create jobs and their innovation must be solution-oriented and must align with challenges within the community,” he stressed.

He said, the Jospong Innovation Hub would soon be created to help young people both internally and externally with great ideas to succeed.

“Do not wait for someone to retire before you get a job, create ideas that would get you jobs,” he added.

For his part, the head of Youth and Inclusive Banking (YIB) at Access Bank, Ghana, Mr Jeffrey Agyepong reiterated that, an innovative individual required the identification of challenges and solving them.

He also encouraged the students not to be demoralised by negative comments in their quest to be innovative.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Kantanka Group of Companies, Nana Kwadwo Safo Kantanka who was represented by Deputy General Secretary of Operations, also underscored the need for academia to collaborate and work with industry players in finding cutting edge solutions to the challenges faced by Africans.

He also entreated lecturers and researchers to take advantage of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to disseminate information to the public.

In his welcome address, the Acting Vice Chancellor (Ag VC) of ATU, Professor Amevi Acakpovi, noted that the lecture was an opportunity for the university to bridge the gap between academia and industry.

The head of the organising committee of the lecture, Professor Alice Mensah also advised the students to engage and learn from individuals who had excelled in industry.

By Michael D. Abayateye

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GEXIM deepens relations with US EXIM Bank

A management team of the Ghana Export – Import Bank (GEXIM) led by the Acting Chief Executive, Sylvester Mensah met with the leadership of the Export–Import Bank of the United States (US EXIM) on Wednesday April 23, 2025 in Washington DC, United States of America.

The Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM, Mr. James C. Cruse and Vice President, International Relations, Ms. Isabel Galdiz received the GEXIM delegation, which included Deputy CEO for Banking, Mr. Moses Klu Mensah and Head of International Cooperation, Mr. Jonathan Christopher Koney at the headquarters of US EXIM.

The meeting offered the GEXIM team the opportunity to share the strategic direction of the Bank in line with the resetting agenda of the President of the Republic, His Excellency John Dramani Mahama for the repositioning of the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one by providing the requisite investment to Ghanaian businesses.

Mr. James C. Cruse expressed US EXIM’s eagerness to deepen its existing relations with GEXIM and proposed the signing of a new Cooperative Framework Agreement following the expiration of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 to utilize US EXIM’s medium term loan guarantees to procure machinery by GEXIM for qualified Ghanaian Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs).

Mr.Sylvester Mensah thanked the Acting President and Chairman of US EXIM for hosting the GEXIM delegation and reaffirmed the Ghanaian government’s commitment to strengthening trade and investment between Ghana and its global partners for economic transformation of Ghana with GEXIM playing a pivotal role.

The two teams will be meeting on the sidelines of the 2025 US EXIM Annual Conference on 29th and April 30, 2025 to explore possible areas of collaboration and matching Ghanaian businesses to American companies. The meeting ended with an exchange of gifts.

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Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation –Pres.Mahama

President John Dramani Mahama has expressed concern over the misuse of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) for personal financial gain by individuals in leadership positions.

Speaking during a meeting with Chief Executives of specified entities under the State Interest and Governance Authority (SIGA) on Thursday, March 13, the President directly attributed the dire state of SOEs to their leadership, accusing chief executives, management teams, and governing boards of prioritising personal enrichment over organisational efficiency.

He pointed to bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures as factors draining public funds while SOEs continue to rely on government bailouts.

“Many SOEs have been used as mere instruments for personal wealth accumulation by appointees. The chief executives, management, and boards of these enterprises are responsible for this situation. Some SOEs have become perennial loss-makers, draining public funds with bloated budgets, unjustified allowances, and unnecessary expenditures while relying on government bailouts as if entitled to them. Many of these entities are at their lowest point in the entire history of the Fourth Republic,” he said.

President Mahama further noted that many SOEs have been plagued by inefficiencies, corruption, and mismanagement, leading to consistent financial losses. He cited the 2023 State Ownership Report by the State Interests and Governance Authority (SIGA), which highlighted systemic inefficiencies and wasteful expenditures within these entities.

He therefore reaffirmed his commitment to reforming under-performing SOEs and ensuring they serve national interests.

He warned that loss-making SOEs will no longer be tolerated and will either be merged, privatised, or closed.

“I will assess you based on your performance. If you do not align with the pace of the reset agenda, you may be asked to step aside. If that adds to the horror movie, so be it,” he added.

Source: Myjoyonline.com