General

There is a well-known saying in international finance: “When the United States sneezes, the world catches a cold”. For Ghana, this is not just a metaphor. Movements in the U.S. economy influence exchange rates, borrowing costs, export demand, and even the purchasing power of ordinary households in Accra. Understanding the rhythm of the U.S. economy has therefore been more than an academic exercise for me while I study at the University of Missouri. It is a survival strategy for myself, my team, and Maxwell Investments Group. My roles outside MIG also make this relevant to policymakers, businesses, entrepreneurs, and the broader Ghanaian citizenry. This article is my first share of my takeaways from the Macroeconomics Theory classes. We will explore how the U.S. economy performed over the past year, using the key macroeconomic indicators economists rely on to assess growth, inflation, jobs, and trade. More importantly, we will connect those signals to Ghana’s own vulnerabilities and opportunities, showing why U.S. economic shifts are felt directly in our markets. READING THE DASHBOARD: ECONOMIC INDICATORS EXPLAINED Economic indicators are like dashboard lights in a car. They warn us of overheating, display our speed, and hint at what lies ahead. For Ghanaian readers, think of it like this: when traders at Makola Market cut back on stock orders, it acts as a leading indicator. When unemployment figures later rise, that is a lagging indicator. When cocoa export revenues appear in Bank of Ghana reports, that is a coincident indicator. Each type offers a different perspective on the same journey. THE U.S. ECONOMY IN 2024–2025: A YEAR IN REVIEW The past year for the U.S. economy has been a story of resilience after uncertainty. Here is what the data tells us: GDP Growth Real GDP, the broadest measure of output, contracted slightly in early 2025 but rebounded strongly in Q2 with 3.3% growth. The rebound came from resilient consumer spending and a reduction in imports. For Ghana, this matters because strong U.S. demand supports global commodity prices, including cocoa and gold. Domestic Demand (Final Sales) Private final sales measure U.S. household and business expenditure. It increased by 1.9% in Q2, indicating strong domestic confidence. For Ghana, this suggests a continued demand for imported consumer goods, but it also presents a challenge as U.S. spending patterns influence global shipping and supply chains. Incomes (GDI) Gross Domestic Income increased by 4.8% in Q2 2025. Rising wages and profits indicate strong household finances. This indirectly supports remittances sent to countries like Ghana, where U.S.-based diaspora communities are vital sources of household income. Corporate Profits Profits from current production increased by $65.5 billion in Q2 after a sharp decline in Q1. Stronger U.S. profits boost global investment flows, which can spill into African markets via ESG funds and emerging market portfolios. Inflation and Prices The price index for gross domestic purchases increased by just 1.8%. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure, the PCE price index, remained steady at 2.0%, with core inflation at 2.5%. This stability reassures global investors. For Ghana, where imported inflation is a constant threat, U.S. price stability helps by alleviating global food and fuel cost pressures. Labour Market Unemployment remained between 4.0% and 4.2%. Nonfarm payroll growth slowed in mid-2025 but stayed positive. This indicates a labour market that is cooling, not collapsing. For Ghana, stable U.S. employment supports remittance flows and bolsters dollar strength. Manufacturing PMI, or Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index The PMI increased from below 50, indicating contraction, to 53.3 by August 2025, signalling a manufacturing rebound. For Ghanaian exporters of raw materials and semi-finished goods, rising U.S. factory activity could lead to higher demand. Exchange Rates The U.S. dollar weakened slightly against the euro and the pound, but gained strength against the yen and the yuan. The overall dollar index fell modestly. For Ghana, this is significant. When the dollar weakens, the cedi experiences less pressure. However, when the dollar strengthens, the cost of imports increases, and inflationary effects are felt by consumers. Interest Rates The Federal Reserve kept the Fed Funds rate at 4.25%–4.50%. This cautious approach signals stability, but for Ghana, high U.S. interest rates can increase our borrowing costs and diminish investor appetite for riskier frontier-market debt. WHY THIS MATTERS FOR GHANA Each of these U.S. signals transmits to Ghana in concrete ways: The phrase ‘when the U.S. sneezes, Ghana catches a cold’ highlights this reliance. For an open, arguably import-dependent economy like Ghana, the U.S. economy functions almost like an external central bank whose signals influence our monetary and fiscal systems whether we like it or not. LESSONS FOR GHANAIAN POLICYMAKERS AND BUSINESSES FOR NOW, THE COLD IS INEVITABLE. The U.S. economy’s performance over the past year has demonstrated resilience, maintaining steady growth, moderate inflation, and cautious monetary policy. For Ghana, each of these signals is significant. From the strength of the dollar to the rate of U.S. job creation, America’s economic health is directly connected to Ghana’s stability. The lesson is clear: Ghana cannot afford to ignore U.S. economic signals. Policymakers, businesses, and even households must keep an eye on America’s “dashboard lights,” because when the U.S. sneezes, Ghana really does catch a cold. It is, for the time being, inevitable. Yes, the inspiration for that line is Thanos. I hope you found this article both insightful and enjoyable. Subscribe to the ‘Entrepreneur In You’ newsletter here: https://lnkd.in/d-hgCVPy. I wish you a highly productive and successful week ahead!  ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ —- ♕ Disclaimer: The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author, Dr. Maxwell Ampong, and do not necessarily reflect the official policy, position, or beliefs of Maxwell Investments Group or any of its affiliates. Any references to policy or regulation reflect the author’s interpretation and are not intended to represent the formal stance of Maxwell Investments Group. This content is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal, financial, or investment advice. Readers should seek independent advice before making any decisions based on this material. Maxwell Investments Group assumes no responsibility

In light of my appointment as Eminent Member and Subject Matter Expert on Innovations & Business Development with the Chartered Institute of Supply Chain Management (CISCM), I am pleased to share with my readers an important contribution from the Institute. Supply chains are often discussed in fragments, procurement here, logistics there. Yet the real power lies in viewing them as integrated systems that sustain businesses, nations, and global trade. In truth, supply chains are present in virtually every commercial activity. The shopkeeper depends on wholesalers and distributors. A barber depends on the makers of clippers, electricity providers, and suppliers of creams and oils. A software company, which seems purely digital, is still tied to a chain of servers, cables, devices, and cloud providers that make their service possible. Every one of these examples illustrates a simple truth: supply chains are everywhere. They underpin how we work, how we trade, and even how we live. This is why the subject matter of supply chain management is everybody’s business. If you think supply chain isn’t your business, you could be missing a key part of the bigger picture. I’ll lastly add that leadership in supply chains matters. Not just at the government or multinational level, but within SMEs, cooperatives, and even start-ups. Leaders set the tone for reliability, transparency, and accountability. The ability of a small cooperative to store grain properly, or of a transport manager to honour delivery commitments, can determine whether an entire chain holds or breaks. Leadership is the hidden driver of supply chain resilience. This is why CISCM’s work resonates so strongly with me. The article that follows, prepared by CISCM, goes deeper into this subject, and I encourage every reader, whether entrepreneur, policymaker, or consumer, to see themselves as part of the supply chain story. Because until we take supply chains seriously, we will continue to underestimate what truly drives prosperity. I trust readers will find this publication as timely and instructive as I did. __________________________________________________________ What is Supply Chain Management? At the most fundamental level, supply chain management (SCM) is management of the flow of goods, data, and finances related to a product or service, from the procurement of raw materials to the delivery of the product at its final destination. Although many people equate the supply chain with procurement or logistics, procurement or logistics is actually just one component of the supply chain. Supply Chain Management traditionally, comprises the following activities; material planning, procurement, inventory and material handling, operations or processing or manufacturing, transportation, logistics, suppliers, wholesalers, retailers, and consumers. Its also Includes information flow and applications of information for all parties involved in product or service creation, order fulfillment, and information tracking. Today’s digitally based Supply Chain Management systems include material handling and software for all parties involved in product or service creation, order fulfillment, and information tracking―such as suppliers, manufacturers and wholesalers. Supply chain activities span procurement, product lifecycle management, supply chain planning (including inventory planning and the maintenance of enterprise assets and production lines), logistics (including transportation and fleet management), and order management. Supply Chain Management can also extend to the activities around global trade, such as the management of global suppliers and multinational production processes. History of Supply Chain Integration Supply chains have existed since ancient times, beginning with the very first product or service created and sold. With the advent of industrialization, SCM has become more sophisticated, allowing companies to do a more efficient job of producing and delivering goods and services. For example, Henry Ford’s standardization of automobile parts was a game-changer that allowed for the mass production of goods to meet the demands of a growing customer base. Over time, incremental changes such as the invention of computers have brought additional levels of sophistication to SCM systems. However, for generations, SCM essentially remained a linear, silo-based function that was managed by supply chain specialists. The internet, technological innovation, and the explosion of the demand-driven global economy has changed all that. Today’s supply chain is no longer a linear entity. Rather, it’s a complex collection of disparate networks that can be accessed 24 hours a day. At the center of these networks are consumers expecting their orders to be fulfilled―when they want them, the way they want them and where they want them. We now live in a time of unprecedented global business and trade, not to mention continual technological innovation and rapidly changing customer taste and preferences and attendant expectations. Today’s best supply chain strategies call for a demand-driven operating model that can successfully bring people, processes, and technology together, around integrated capabilities to deliver goods and services with extraordinary speed and accuracy. Though SCM has always been an enterprise fundamental, the supply chain today is more vital than ever as a marker for business success. Companies that can effectively manage their supply chain to adapt to today’s volatile and ever-changing, technology-driven business environment are the ones that will survive and thrive. What is the conventional meaning of Supply Chain Integration? Supply chain integration can be defined as a close calibration and collaboration within a  supply chain, mostly with the application of shared management information systems. A  supply chain is made from all parties that participate in the completion of acquisition, like  the resources, raw materials, manufacturing of the product, shipping of completed products  and facilitating services. The concept of Conventional Supply Chain Management (SCM) is based on Five (5) core tenets: The Change Theory  The global socio-economic and business ecosystem is being driven by existential challenges of VOLATILITY, UNCERTAINTY, COMPLEXITY, and AMBIGUITY. These phenomena have influenced the tectonic shift from conventional Supply Chain Management, with the corresponding features mentioned above, to Integrated Supply Chain Management which is an enhanced position of Supply Chain Integrations called INTEGRATED SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT (ISCM).   At the World Economic Forum 2014, it became very clear that the concept of Integrated Supply Chain Management is the new paradigm that will provide sustainable and reliable solutions to the global economic and business challenges which confront many

This article is for the 20-something-year-olds who send me their pitches day in and day out. If I’ve already spoken to you, then you’ve already heard this before. Every industry has its rituals of spectacle. In business, that ritual is the launch. We pour energy into unveiling the minimum viable product, celebrating the award, or cutting the ribbon on a new office. Photographers capture the moment. Speeches are given. Sometimes there’s champagne. But beneath the confetti lies an uncomfortable truth: launches are the easy part. The harder, slower, quieter work begins after the applause fades. I have sat in offices where executives obsessed over the launch date as if it were destiny, and in village markets where farmers marked “first sales” with dancing and drums. Both moments mattered, but both were only beginnings. If we are serious about innovation, growth, and long-term transformation, we need to move our gaze from the spectacle of starting to the discipline of sustaining.  That is the heart of post-launch: resilience. The Seduction of the Launch There’s something psychologically irresistible about launches. Humans are wired to love novelty. Neuroscientists have shown that the dopamine reward system in our brains spikes when we encounter something new, whether it’s a shiny phone, a bold idea, or even just a fresh headline. Media outlets know this. Investors too. Politicians cut ribbons not because concrete drying is newsworthy, but because audiences thrill at beginnings. This is why, across the globe, we celebrate MVPs (minimum viable products) as if they are fully fledged companies. It is why African tech hubs routinely generate more media for demo days than for five-year sustainability reports. And it is why entrepreneurs sometimes fall prey to the “founder hero” narrative, where the drama of ignition is treated as the whole story. It is not. But novelty is not the same as resilience. A launch without a maintenance plan is a short-lived firework: spectacular, yes, but fading into darkness just as quickly. The Mirage of the Launch History is littered with launches that dazzled and died. Consider Theranos in the United States. Its promise to revolutionise blood testing was celebrated with billion-dollar valuations and magazine covers. But beneath the surface, the post-launch discipline of peer review, maintenance of credibility, and incremental improvements was absent. What collapsed was not only a company but the trust itself. Closer to home, Africa has seen its share of high-profile launches that stumbled. Some governments have launched industrial parks with ribbon cuttings, only for machinery to rust months later because spare parts were never budgeted. Some start-ups dazzled investors with apps that attracted early downloads but failed to update their servers or adapt to user feedback. The “launch mirage” creates the illusion of progress, but without systems of learning and adjustment, it is simply that: an illusion. The financial world provides the starkest reminder. The 2008 crisis was triggered by instruments whose launches were celebrated on Wall Street as “innovations.” What followed was not resilience but collapse because the systems sustaining them were never stress-tested. Feedback Loops are Oxygen Resilience, by contrast, is sustained by feedback. In farming, you know that crops respond to rainfall differently each season. Farmers in Ghana’s northern regions adjust planting times not once, but continuously, as they observe weather changes. This is a feedback loop: observe, adapt, survive. In business, feedback loops serve the same purpose. Amazon’s entire empire rests not just on its launch as an online bookstore, but on its obsessive iteration. It tests relentlessly, gathering user data, refining logistics, tweaking algorithms. This is invisible to the public but vital to its survival. At Maxwell Investments Group, our networks of farmers thrive not because we launched contracts once, but because we maintain trust through constant recalibration: pricing updates, transparent communication, and swift adjustments when supply chains falter. Post-launch resilience is not a product but it’s a living conversation between system and environment. The Fragility of Forgetfulness Another enemy of resilience is forgetfulness. Institutional memory is often the first casualty of obsession with novelty. Africa offers sobering examples. Colonial governments built railways that spurred trade. But after independence, maintenance was neglected. Today, many of those tracks lie in disrepair, symbols not of progress but of the cost of forgetting. In corporate settings, the same pattern repeats. Leadership turnover wipes out lessons learned. Staff rotate, reports gather dust, and every new executive wants to “reinvent” the organisation. The absence of structured memory forces companies to repeat mistakes. At Maxwell Investments Group, we deliberately invest in documenting processes, creating playbooks, and cross-training teams. This is not glamorous work, and it rarely earns headlines. But it prevents fragility. It keeps wisdom alive even when people move on. The Resilience Dividend Why should anyone care about the slow grind of maintenance and feedback? Because resilience pays dividends that launches never can. Investors often look for signals of durability. A start-up that survives its first storm attracts more serious capital than one that dazzles at demo day. In fact, resilience itself becomes a form of collateral: proof that an enterprise will not collapse at the first sign of market turbulence. Consider Ghana’s cocoa sector. International buyers favour suppliers who can consistently deliver quality beans year after year, not just one harvest. That consistency commands premiums. The same is true in manufacturing, where the reliability of supply chains attracts global partners. The resilience dividend is both financial and reputational. Organisations known for post-launch stamina earn trust, and trust multiplies opportunity. Why We Celebrate Launches, Not Longevity And yet, despite this evidence, our culture continues to reward launches more than longevity. Why? Partly, it is novelty bias. Humans overvalue the new and undervalue the old. Media houses too are incentivised to cover fresh stories rather than long maintenance journeys. And capital markets often pressure leaders to show short-term wins rather than long-term stability. Even in awards ceremonies, categories for “Best Innovation” or “Most Promising Start-up” are far more common than categories celebrating a decade of quiet excellence. We lionise beginnings, not endurance. The