General

Football is one of the most beloved sports throughout the world. This game carries fans more than any other game worldwide. There are an estimated 3.5 billion soccer fans around the globe, making soccer the top sport globally. Cricket, hockey and Tennis stand second, third, and fourth respectively.  The beauty of this game is that it leads to organic nourishment of the mental and physical capacity of the player. Mental capacity is enhanced by coordination among players, setting strategies to defend or attack and building team spirit. On the other hand, physical capacity is enhanced as this game involves extensive, continuous running. Let’s discuss different aspects of this game including its general history and from the perspective of Ghana.  History of football in the World The history of football can be traced back to 2,000 years. Different countries in the world claim the origin of this game. These countries include Greece, China, Rome, Japan, and Great Britain. Greece used to play the game called Episkyros. This game involved throwing a ball over the heads of team members. It also involved coordination among players using a ball. Hence, Greece claimed football originated in their country. Likewise, the Military in Ancient China used to play Tsu Chu’s sport. This game was designed to kick a leather ball in the net with feet. And players were not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. So, it was in some manner similar to modern-day football. That is why the Chinese claim football originates from their country. In the Roman Empire, the game played was called harpastum. This game involved opposing an opponent and bringing the ball to one’s own side of the court. So, Romanians claim football was started in their country.   Similarly, the Japanese used to play a game called Kemari. In this sport, the players used to work as a team and keep the ball in the air. So, this game also involved team coordination with a single ball on the ground. Hence, the Japanese claim that football originates in Japan. History suggests that Great Britain had originated the game’s rules regarding touching the ball with hands, tripping opponents and uniforms in this sport. With time, more complexity was introduced into the game. For instance, a penalty kick was introduced to compensate the victim team. Similarly, the system of yellow and red cards was introduced. This led to more and more discipline on the ground and increasing interest of the people in this game. (stadium) Football’s International Federation Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is an international football association founded on May 21, 1904, in France. This association is designed with the responsibility to promote this sport globally. FIFA is also responsible for managing and maintaining tournaments throughout the world. Further, FIFA works to advocate sports integrity and fair play globally. The members of this association include 211 national associations and six confederations. These members belong to different countries of the world. Federations operate throughout different continents. FIFA governs matters related to regulations of the games, organization of the international competitions and tournaments including the FIFA world cup, encouraging coaching methodologies, establishing enhanced standards for the game, working on sports medicine, and the overall development of football around the globe.   The efforts of FIFA can be seen by analysing the fact that this association conducts different tournaments and competitions including the Under-20 World Cup, the Women’s World Cup, the Under-17 World Cup, the Futsal World Cup, and the Beach Soccer World Cup. However, the FIFA World Cup remains the top tournament of all of them. History of the World Cup tournament  The FIFA World Cup tournament is one of the most prestigious sports tournaments globally. The World Cup is conducted every four years and 32 teams take part in the world cup. Further, the host country for the World Cup is selected by FIFA. The first official FIFA World Cup was conducted in 1930. This match was played between Argentina and Uruguay; Uruguay won the match. After that, the World Cup was conducted after every four years. The Second World War interrupted the consistency of the game. However, it was resumed in 1950 and played after every four years. The next FIFA World Cup is to be played from November 21, 2022, to December 18, 2022. In FIFA World Cup history, 79 nations have competed in the tournament, and twenty-one final tournaments have been played. Only eight national teams have been champions that have won the Cup. Brazil stands first in the queue with five times wins. Other winning nations include Germany and Italy (each won four times). In addition to this, France, Argentina, and Uruguay have been a winner (each won two times). Similarly, Spain and England have won the title once. (wiki) History of the World Cup in Ghana  Ghana made her debut in 2006 and she has played in three World Cups tournaments; in 2006, 2010, and 2014. She missed out in 2018. Ghana has now also qualified for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Ghana’s national team is called the Black Stars. The governing body of Team Ghana is the Ghana Football Association. The first time Ghana qualified for the World Cup in 2006, she had the youngest team in the tournament. (Wikipedia) In 2006, Ghana in Group E, played matches against Italy, the Czech Republic, and the USA. The match played against Italy was lost by 2-0. During the next match, team Ghana played against the Czech Republic and won 2-0. Team Ghana now had two goals in hand. The final group stage match was played against the United States of America and Ghana won this one by 2-1. However, we lost our next match with Brazil by 0-3. Ghana was the only African country in that year to make it to the round of 16 and was eliminated after the match with Brazil (Wikipedia). In this World Cup, two matches were won and two lost. Ghana was ranked 13th out of 32 by FIFA in that tournament which was impressive for Ghana as debutants (Wikipedia). In 2010, Ghana

The Discovery of crude oil in the Middle East changed their fortunes because of continuous demand for the commodity. Life does not exist without energy. In today’s world, fossil energy/crude oil is considered one of the most prominent energy sources with a large global market. Renewable energy is catching up. But obviously not fast enough in Ghana and many other places in the world. As it currently stands, everything is literally linked to the price of a litre of petrol or diesel. So when fuel price shifts, an entire economy shifts with it. Fuel prices have shifted. They’ve leapt and the entire country has reacted correspondingly. At a press event on March 24th, Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, said, “To mitigate the rising price of petroleum products at the pumps for the next three months, the government has decided to reduce margins in petroleum price build-up by a total of 15 pesewas per litre with effect from 1st of April.” Any increase in fuel pricing seems to affect every other price. This is because the increase in the petrol price leads to an increase in the cost of transportation, leading to overall inflation in the country. Hence, there is a direct impact on the citizen’s expenditures, import bills, savings, and the overall living standards of the people. There has been a massive increase in the petrol price in recent times, not just in Ghana. After COVID-19 and the reopening of the world, the demand and price for oil in Africa have skyrocketed, leading to adverse impacts on inflation, domestic budget, and economic savings. (Business insider Africa) Although some African countries have crude oil, our region is home to 5 out of 30 oil-producing countries in the world. Yet, not all these countries in the region produce crude oil. Further, the countries producing crude oil have certain strategic failures to address demand. (investpedia) There are local and international factors that impact oil prices and if these factors can be managed, the economic outlay of our African countries can be reduced. LOCAL FACTORS AFFECTING THE PETROL PRICES IN AFRICA 1. Operational incapability of oil-producing African countries The biggest problem with oil-producing African countries is mismanagement (and the c-word). It’s why oil-rich countries in Africa still need to import petroleum products into their country. It’s why a country can import crude oil from Europe and have it arrive “dirtier than black market fuel”. (investpedia) 2. Tax and levies implication on the petrol price The implication of taxes on the sale of petrol leads to a higher price. As the rate and number of the tax increases, the price of fuel increases. For instance, in 2019, there were about 12 different types of surcharges on petrol, leading to a higher price. These added up to about 40% (ghana business reviews). These taxes and levies include road fund levy, Energy debt recovery levy, energy sector recovery levy, special petroleum tax, distribution, marketing margin etc. Nevertheless, Government is in the process of negotiating some of these to reduce the price. That is why the announcement by the Finance Minister is in order. It might be temporary though till the prices in the international markets go back to normal.  3. Legal and security issues within local oil-producing countries On a broader spectrum, there have been security problems in major oil-producing countries like Nigeria during the last decade. It’s evident from the report of the US Energy Information administration that it was a security risk to explore and develop oil fields in the country. (investpedia) Further, most of the oil exploration activities are dependent on foreign companies. So, we are dependent on imports and foreign machinery work for our very own welfare. 4. Currency depreciation The import bill increases when the local currency depreciates. It’s simple to understand that when currency is weak, you have to pay more to import the product. The cedi has been depreciating in recent times. So, when cedi is converted into dollars, more cedi will be needed to make the product’s price. It’s also important to note that persistent depreciation is increasing because of a gap in imports and exports. The import bill exceeds the country’s exports, which weakens the local currency. We need to choose locally manufactured products where possible. It can help to boost the economic stability of the country. (norvanreports) INTERNATIONAL FACTORS AFFECTING OIL PRICE IN THE COUNTRY Geopolitical tension between Russia and Ukraine Russia is the third-largest oil-producing nation in the world after Saudi Arabia and the United States. Russia’s oil extraction capacity and supply ability are higher than most other oil-producing countries around the globe. And it has been a major oil supplier for the global oil market. However, a recent clash between Russia and Ukraine has created tension and uncertainty about the operational sustainability of its oil market. (iaee) It’s important to note that international sanctions on Russia aim to make it unable to find a buyer. The US and Canada have already banned oil purchases from Russia. The UK is about to do the same by the end of the year. So, there is global uncertainty regarding supply and what the future has to unfold. 2. Increasing economic activity throughout the world In 2020, this world witnessed zero oil prices in the international market due to reduced/no economic activity. However, oil price exceeded $100 per barrel in recent times due to increased economic activity.  The rise of petrol prices has triggered inflation throughout the world, not just Ghana. For instance, in the United States, the current inflation rate is 7.9% which is a massive increase compared to 1.4% in 2020. Although it’s not entirely due to a hike in the oil price, it remains a major factor in boosting inflation. (ycharts) The use of crude oil is not limited to transportation and mechanical energy. Many petrol products are used as the main component in a wide range of products like electricity, chemicals, synthetic material, road oil, feedstocks, and many other mass consumer products. 3. Limited supplying capacity It’s important to note that although there

A successful process of raising funds for your business is the first step towards achieving success. Your business may not be able to materialize productive investment opportunities without access to easy and timely finance. Whether it’s a start-up or an expansion, financing is a crucial step towards business success. Generally, financing is raised to fuel working capital and asset purchases. Working capital is the amount required to manage your day-to-day business operations. This is the amount that needs to remain stuck in the business. It may be in the form of inventory, receivables, and prepaid assets. On the other hand, asset purchase is about the acquisition of the property, plant, and equipment to support the expansion and strategic capability of the business.  It is relatively difficult for small businesses and individuals to raise finance in Africa. This article will focus on why the difficulty to get financing from formal financing institutions like banks, insurance companies, leasing companies etc. Africa’s generally low-income economy plays a major part in this. It’s important to note that the goal of financing companies and banks is to make money. Their business model is based on collecting interest, premiums, fees, and principal repayment. So, higher amounts of interest and premiums can be collected when the targeted country has a higher income level. Unfortunately, African countries have some of the lowest income levels. As per a recent report from the World Bank, more than half of sub-Saharan countries have a poverty rate of more than 35% (world bank). And a more alarming situation is that there has been a 3% rise in poverty in recent years mostly due to the Coronavirus pandemic (UN). Furthermore, it is projected that 6% of the entire world’s population in 2030 will still be living in extreme poverty if current trends continue (UNSTATS). So it becomes difficult for the banks and other financing companies to collect timely repayment for the interest and principal. Another picture to analyze is that banks approve a loan for the business based on financial feasibility and financial sustainability. It is difficult to prove financial feasibility/sustainability due to lower buying power in African countries. So, there are few instances when financing is approved for the Africans.  Financial feasibility is focused on the economic viability of the project. It helps understand the related cost, expenses, and revenue specific to the project. If expected revenue is higher than the total cost, the project is financially viable. However, it’s important to note that feasibility involves operational aspects like managerial competence, operational capacity, and other aspects. Financial sustainability means the business can sell the products/services at a price that covers expenses and leads to profitability. In other words, if the business is not able to generate sufficient return for the stakeholders, it will not be able to survive in the long term. Most businesses do not know how to present their proposals in this manner to analysts in the formal financial markets i.e. clearly articulating the financial feasibility and sustainability of their projects in a format that can be easily be assessed. The Business Plan/Proposal is your story of why you need the capital and that should clearly spell out how the investor stands to benefit and how their funds will be safeguarded with clear structures on how every single aspect is going to be handled. Identify all the risks in your business and how to mitigate them and you will have the attention and interest of the investor/lender. In Africa, many households complain that they do not get financing while many banks complain they are not able to find creditworthy customers. Hence, one prime reason for limited banking activity seems to be the lower-income economy of an African region. The irony is that greater financing efforts by the formal financial institutions to these same low-income households will help to foster the economic development of the country, of the continent. For instance, financing made available by the banks can be used to efficiently run business operations leading to enhanced production, exports, revenue, and increase of a country’s GDP. So banks have massive potential to enhance economic activity. However, their interest is at stake here in such situations as they may not be able to collect their funds. To chip in on insurance companies, they also depend on the premium collected from policyholders. Hence, they also consider businesses’ ability to pay a premium on a timely basis. (VOXEU) Further, businesses operating in a low-income generating economy may not be able to cover the financing cost, as their revenue may not be sufficient to cover the operational expenses. And in the instance where they have a good case, articulating this to the formal financial sector can be a barrier to accessing financing. An interesting side of the business model of the bank should be looked at. Understand that banks raise cash through deposits, amongst other ways. The cash is deposited in the banks via current accounts and savings accounts. On the current account, the bank does not need to pay interest. However, banks need to pay interest on the savings accounts. Generally, that cash is disbursed as a loan at a higher interest cost than the interest payable on the savings accounts collectively. The difference between interest payable on the savings accounts and interest receivable on loans is income for the bank. That said, banks are usually reluctant to disburse loans into a low-income economy because of fear of bad debts. So, they prefer to invest deposits in the Government and other stable cash-generating securities with a low risk of default. Alternatively, the bank can also invest in foreign securities. It helps them in managing risk on the investments portfolio and balancing their income/expenses with higher confidence. This creates a low negative impact on banks’ profitability even if they are not able to locate enough creditworthy borrowers. Hence, the banks can extend utilising this simple business model and enjoy profitability. Shortage of information from and about borrowers poses another great problem, as earlier stated; but let me dive in further. Sometimes, the business idea is strong,