General

If You’re Reading This It’s Too Late. I’ve always wanted to use that line. If you’re actually reading this on Monday 18th October, 2021, it’s then not too late. You can join us through Zoom conferencing using the link and logins below: Link: bit.ly/GEF2021Day1 Meeting ID: 912 806 3388 Passcode: ghana I will be serving as moderator together with the distinguished panel below: Please find below the Line-up for Plenary 2 of Day 1 of the Ghana Economic Forum 2021. Self-introduction by moderator. Introduction of what the Panel was set up for. Topic: Digitalization of the Ghanaian economy: e-currency, electronic payment systems; critical vehicle to promoting economic growth and development. This panel discussion is about the digital leadership of a person or an organisation, and the country’s preparedness to get on the train to national digitisation. It’s also about understanding our current readiness and the panellists views and appetite for paths that could and should be taken. I wanted the session to be real with real impact. So we’ve given the panellists the opportunity to view the questions beforehand. Some of them are from players in the industry who are in attendance, intended to invoke debate. So some of these questions might be challenging but we believe that this is what the Ghana Economic Forum has been set up for. For those of us reading the B&FT today, this is the event line-up listed as will happen. Short introduction of the Panellists, about 30-60sec each, read from their submitted profiles. Two questions will be put forth each of them. We shall listen to comments from two organisations. We shall take a couple questions from the audience, both here and online. Up to 3 minutes shall be given to each panellist for closing remarks. I will give the vote of thanks to panellists and organisers. And then we will conclude the panel. We begin with a question to Mr. Kwame A. Oppong, Head, FinTech & Innovation, Bank of Ghana. Question to Mr. Kwame A. Oppong: To our audience who’ve heard of the coming e-cedi, how different is the e-cedi from the Ghana Cedis I have in my pocket right now and how different is it from the cedi in our bank accounts? Question to Mr. Nana Yaw Owusu Banahene: With the coming of a central bank digital currency (CBDC), it’s worthwhile for us to define what that could mean to the average Joe or most of our audience who are in Business. Nana, what does having a CBDC mean to a business not unlike yours? Question to Mr. Ammishaddai Owusu-Amoah: Whenever I’m stopped in traffic after work by a police barrier, in my younger days I used to just think “hurry up and let me go home”. Now, I see those few seconds to a minute as my contribution to community safety. That’s how I view taxes now; our quota to national development. How will the e-cedi impact our GRA’s mission to aid citizens in contributing their quota, and the fight against tax evasion? Question to Mr. Andy Akoto: The accounting industry has been one that has seen first-hand what it means to migrate from the physical to the digital. What are some of the impact to expect when we drastically reduce the cost of information transfer, which is what I think a CBDC will do? Question to Dyann Heward-Mills: How can we build trust and ensure good governance in a digital currency, and what data protection protocols on a macrolevel will help the digital journey along? Question to Mr. Julian Opuni: I don’t think we can talk about digital currencies without mentioning the very widespread use of Mobile Money. Using that as a case study, what do you think has been the biggest impact of mobile money technology on business transactions, at least so far? Comment from Impact Market: Impact Market is an organisation that raises funding for low-income communities through easily accessible digital currency. I asked, “What are some of the biggest roadblocks that mid-size businesses and entrepreneurs face along the digitisation journey” and their CEO, Marco Barbosa said, and I quote: “I think some of the biggest roadblocks entrepreneurs face include the lack of: policies that incentivize risk taking, openness to learn new processes/technology, and proper infrastructure (both in finance, technology and education). Policy makers in financial, governmental, and the tax space needs to sit and have well-structured dialogues with MSMEs, entrepreneurs and large corporations to create more accessible processes. Much too often, industry leaders who are at the centre of decision and policy making fail to realise that a broken or ignored system goes on to negatively impact the overall economy of a state or country, and this further goes on to fuel dissent and unnecessary hardships for the very innovators who will move a country forward. In the specific case of finance and its infrastructure, how have you been preparing for the web3? I would recommend to do not block/delay innovation and new tech adoption with heavy regulation, specially blockchain. Embrace it, be friendly and welcoming when it comes to new technology exploration. Make efforts to learn first, and listen to the talent and entrepreneurs (the builders of the future). Create conditions where even foreign entrepreneurs would consider to move in. Some examples to drive more incentives, growth, and align interests, could include much lower tax to new companies for the first years, more investment in tech education and infrastructure, create funding mechanisms to drive more capital to the country (like matching foreign investments in local start-ups), facilitate access to credit and investment, provide tax incentives for big corporations when working with start-ups (either investing or being a customer), and more.  But, most important, to drive long lasting entrepreneurship and prosperity, you need first to empower local talent and unlock their human potential by fighting poverty effectively. Lack of access to finance (unbanked) is one of the main driving forces of poverty. Adopting web3 could dramatically increase efficiency and trust in processes and payments, while facilitating access to finance to everyone. My question to Rev. Owusu-Amoah is

The emergence of the novel COVID-19 virus pandemic has claimed over 4.5 million lives globally and still counting. In addition to the public health impact of the COVID-19 virus, it also severely impacted many economies across the world. As a result, many business activities in many countries have been disrupted. The impact of the virus has been severe and widespread across firms, with many enterprises facing varying degrees of losses (Apedo-Amah et al., 2020).  According to Shafi et al. (2020), it is clear that firms / enterprises worldwide are experiencing the significant impact of the pandemic on their businesses. Their findings reveal that small enterprises are even more severely affected by the pandemic compared to large enterprises.  As most economies are coming out and recovering from the pandemic, many enterprises are also doing the same. One of the critical things businesses and enterprises need most in this current dispensation is capital or funding. Thus, raising funds or capital in this era is exceptionally vital for businesses across the globe.  The global GDP growth rate in 2020 fell by 3.3% as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Similar to the developed countries, most of the enterprises in developing countries are Small and Medium-Size enterprises (SMEs). These forms of businesses or enterprises are an integral part of the global economy. They are the economic backbone of most developing countries; they are the major source of employment and contribute substantially to growth.  As indicated by Shafi et al. (2020), small enterprises are more severely affected by the negative impact of pandemic compared to large enterprises. Because they constitute a sizable proportion of the economy, this directly becomes the cause of the decline in growth of these economies.  According to Taneja et al. (2016), SME’s are kinds of enterprises that are more flexible. They tend to adapt themselves to the changing economic situations, thereby allowing them to navigate through the economic downturns. Still, there have been severe downturns. Governments all over the world are reviving their economies and businesses are following suit, also reviving their operations. As a matter of fact, the recovery of economies globally is also largely contingent on the recovery of businesses or enterprises, especially SMEs. One thing that is vital for businesses and enterprises to revive their activities is funding. Funding is the lifeline of any business, and raising funding in this period is crucial for business enterprises to expand their activities and translate into the economy’s growth. Prior to the COVID-19 crises, businesses, especially SMEs, those in developing countries, find it difficult to finance themselves through retained earnings. Also, one of the main challenges hindering the growth of many businesses in developing economies has to do with getting access to funds or credit. The World Bank Enterprise Surveys of 119 developing countries indicated that lack of access to credit is a major obstacle to enterprises, especially start-ups.  Other studies have also found access to credit to be a major challenge facing SMEs in developing countries such as Ghana over the years (Abor & Biekpe, 2007; Mensah et al., 2019; Quartey et al., 2017).  High cost of borrowing, collateral requirement, limited availability of long-term loan facilities, and limited avenues of raising credit are some of the factors responsible for the challenges of raising capital or credit.  Moreover, post the emergence of the pandemic, it even more difficult for business and enterprises to raise funds because the pandemic hit the sources as well. There still have been avenues businesses are using to raise funding in this pandemic. Bank loans or loans from savings and loan institutions are the most widely used source of finance for businesses in developing economies. Especially in Ghana, most SMEs have to rely on banks for financing. Likewise, most small businesses also look to savings and loan institutions for their working capital. The downside to these sources of funding is that they come at a high cost for businesses. Moreover, these institutions were also heavily hit by the negative impact of the pandemic, thereby constraining their ability to give out loans to companies. As a result, most of these enterprises tend to direct their attention to other alternatives to seek funds to finance their ventures.  These alternatives include government and donor grant and loan programs. Government agencies in developed and developing economies are providing funding in the form of grants to support businesses during this pandemic. For instance, in Ghana, government Agencies such as the  Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC) and the National Board for Small-Scale Industries (NBSSI), and the Ghana Enterprises Agency (GEA) provide support to SMEs and start-ups, especially in this pandemic era.  Some of these agencies offer loans facilities, and others give grants to local enterprises. The State has initiatives and programs such as the CAP Buss Program and Ghana Covid-19 Alleviation and Revitalization of Enterprises Support (CARES), Obaatan Pa to help local enterprises and mitigate the pandemic’s impact on the economy. Obtaining funds from these sources come with some merits and demerits.  Some of the advantages are that the helping enterprise will not have to be paid back funds that are given as a grant. Even in the case of loan facilities, the cost of borrowing tends to be much lower compared to borrowing from banks. Also, no part of the enterprise is taken in return for the grant. Thus no control is taken over the business. Nonetheless, the application process can be very time-consuming with issues of red tape and lots of competition is involved in obtaining funds from these sources. These sources of funding are not adequate to meet the financial needs of these enterprises. Therefore, businesses need to explore another avenues to raise the funds they need for their operations. There are other avenues that are largely not explored by SME enterprises in developing countries, which, if explored, will inure great benefit to the enterprises.  One of such avenues that SMEs in countries like Ghana can use to raise funds is through crowdfunding. A lot of enterprises in the developed countries use this route to obtain funding. Crowdfunding platforms allow businesses to raise funds

Just like many other countries around the world, oil palm is aboriginal to Ghana. This is because, the country’s weather and apt soil conditions allow for its vast production. Oil palm is a local staple food for Ghanaians of all cultural backgrounds and have created job opportunities for many over the years. Aside this, it contributes immeasurably to the country’s coffers. I’ve been thinking about the oil palm industry for a few weeks now. A Turkish processing company asked that I research the possibility of them importing Palm Kernel Shells. Palm Kernel Shells or PKS are the shells fragments that are left over after palm kernel is crushed in the mill. I am aware of PKS’s availability; I just didn’t know that it is extremely sort after. The shells, not to talk of the palm kernel.  That got me thinking about the entire palm oil industry. On the international level, oil palm accounts for more than half of the global import and export trade of all vegetable oils. As a result of its frequent production around the world, oil palm can also be found in a variety of stuff including food, nonessentials, and biofuels. In the same vein, it is globally the most edible oil having exceeded all others in 2015 according to the International Institute for Sustainable Development (2019). The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) also estimated its global production at 50 million tonnes in the crop year ending September 2011. Yet, the state of the oil palm industry throughout the world is often swept under the carpet and rarely discussed, at least from my light research conducted. Regardless, it is an undisputable fact that one of the most contentious issues on sustainable agriculture across the world has to do with the oil palm industry. Most controversial is the seeming disparity between its economic impacts and its environmental and social effects; I’m talking about issues relating to deforestation & the loss of biodiversity, social tensions & conflicts due to land acquisition. In a 2019 report by The Guardian, worldwide annual production of palm oil according to the USDA from 2018 to 2019 was nearly 81.6 million tons. This shows that a significant proportion of people use products or items containing oil palm around the world. There is an estimated three billion users of palm oil products in 150 countries. There is a global average user consumption of 8kg of palm oil annually. Oil palm grows mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America with Indonesia and Malaysia being its principal  producers. These leading producers of oil palm, i.e. Indonesia and Malaysia, offer the international market 85% of global oil palm produce. But in spite of these high productions figures increasing revenues in these countries, there are mega environmental and social damages.  The dominant nature of the oil palm industry Oil palm cannot be spoken of without its source – the palm tree. It is general knowledge that the palm tree from which we subsequently derive the oil palm has immeasurable benefits. I believe that one way or the other we all may have shared in the numerous benefits of the palm tree. If you’re an adult Ghanaian that mostly lived in Ghana, then chances are that you cracked the shell one time and chewed on the nut. Palm trees are unquestionably among the most vital tress here on planet earth. All of its parts can be transformed into something valuable. Aside the oil palm, other items such as palm wine, woods, brooms, palm kernel, mats, among others can be gotten from the palm tree. Oh and Palm Kernel Shell! It is also an undisputable fact that oil palm is the most popular item derived from the palm tree. It is hauled out of the palm fruit and used for cooking oil, soaps, waxes, toothpastes and many more. With this knowledge, it can be noted that the dominant nature of the oil palm industry can be attributed to its universal and continual relevance.  Factors contributing to Oil Palm dominance. After what you’ve read so far, it would be safe to say that the oil palm industry has a lot to control. This dominance of the oil palm industry can be hinged on five forces or factors.  An ingredient in almost everything  In line with the above already discussed, oil palm is almost in everything, from foods to cosmetics and biofuels. It is also the most common cooking oil across the world because of its high heat resistance, long shelf life and, most importantly, its low price. This notion is substantiated by an estimation of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) that palm oil can be found in about 50% of packaged items in the supermarket. This ranges from everything like detergents, to candy, to cosmetics.  Oil Palms also have higher production rates than other vegetable oils as it demands smaller amounts of energy, fertilizer and pesticides to produce. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) agrees. WWF has stated that oil palm produces around thirty-five percent (35%) of all vegetable oil. Oil farm farmers do this on less than 10% of all land allocated to oil-producing crops. In contrast, other oils such as coconut oil or soybean oil would utilise anywhere between four (4) and ten (10) times more land. A driving force for environmental and social effects Though oil palm production contributes immensely to the creation of employment opportunities and revenues, it forms part of the factors responsible for some forms of social and environmental destruction including the following; forest and peatland burning and the resulting haze; deforestation and the loss of biodiversity; social tensions and conflicts due to land acquisition; infringement of local rights in rural communities; and the unjust treatment of smallholder farmers. Hence, despite its high production rate across the world, it is apparent that the expansion of oil palm plantations means that palm oil production would contribute largely to escalating the already existent destruction of lands, thus deforestation and other social problems. On a scale