Ghanaian press spotlights 5 Ghanaian SMEs that penetrate US market, others

APA – Accra (Ghana)
The report that a selected group of small businesses from Ghana have obtained what has been described as a ground-breaking permission to export their products to the US market is one of the leading stories in the Ghanaian press o Wednesday.
The Graphic reports that a selected group of small businesses from Ghana have obtained what has been described as a ground-breaking permission to export their products to the US market.
The companies are AS Chanan Company, owners of the Ascolate Cocoa Powder brand; SheaCoco Beauty Natural and Handmade Cosmetics created by Jay Emjay Company; Achiever Foods Limited; Acquatic Foods Limited, producers of koobi power, koobi chunks and boneless koobi; and Flocare Beauty.
For a start, the companies are to sell their products at Brown’s ShopRite stores, a reputable retailer of food and non-food products in Philadelphia.
Located in many neighbourhoods in America, ShopRite, sells various products such as clothing, food items, fruit and vegetables, cosmetics, household appliances, liquor, general merchandise, and home entertainment systems, and it is expected that the new products from Ghana will offer their clients additional variety to choose from.
Facilitated by Diaspora Services and Products Incorporated in collaboration with the US-Ghana Chamber of Commerce, Philadelphia, the move is expected to help the small businesses to scale up their operations to increase revenue and to add to the country’s portfolio of non-traditional products to the diaspora.
Among the products to be displayed on the shelves of Shoprite are creams and cosmetics made from sheabutter, high grade tea and cocoa products, dried salted fish (koobi), and African black soap.
Chief Executive Officer of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yofi Grant, who spoke at mini exhibition to kick-start the deal at Brown’s ShopRite in South West Philadelphia, described the move as great opportunity for Ghanaian small businesses to enter the US market.
The newspaper says that Gold Fields Ltd. will decide whether to keep or dispose of its stake in its smallest gold asset within the next four months, according to interim Chief Executive Officer Martin Preece.
The Johannesburg-listed firm is “exploring all the options” for the Asanko gold mine in Ghana, including a total divestiture or a move to boost its ownership, Preece told Bloomberg.
The company entered into a joint venture agreement to operate the mine with Vancouver-based Galiano Gold Inc. in 2018. It produced 170,342 bullion ounces last year but expects output to drop to 120,000 to 130,000 ounces in 2023 as the asset ages.
“One way or another, I think in the next three or four months we’ll have a resolution on the way forward with Galiano,” said Preece Tuesday at the Denver Gold Forum.
Preece said the company also plans to announce a new CEO within the next two weeks after recently completing the final rounds of interviews with candidates. Gold Fields is just beginning a search for a new chief financial officer after Paul Schmidt retired in August, he said.
The Ghanaian Times reports that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has been urged to review its Arms and Ammunition Act to ensure much stricter sanctions against offenders.
This is also to address the issues of proliferation of illicit weapons used for armed criminality in the sub region.
Speaking at the opening of the 2023 ECOWAS-United Nations Institute for Disarmament Re-search (UNIDIR) regional seminar on gender perspectives on arms control and disarmament in Accra yesterday, the Chief Director of the Ministry of Interior, Mrs Adelaide Anno-Kumi, said the review of the act when undertaken would help nib in the bud wanton proliferation of arms and its repercussions on security in the sub-region.
The three-day event seeks to convene subject matter experts to deliberate on developments in the field of disbarment and arms control with focus on gender.
It is as well to enhance member state awareness of their obligations to disarmament and exchange ideas on best practices to bridge gaps in understanding and promoting a culture of disarmament.
Mrs Anno-Kumi said a number of initiatives to enhance measures against the flow of illicit conventional arms had been discussed and adopted by States, but examples still abound of the threat illicit arms continues to pose to states.
“Recent warfare in a few countries further illustrate how conventional arms and their illicit circulation contribute to rapid and violent shifts of political regimes, instability, humanitarian crisis and terrorism, with a dreadful impact across the continent,” she stated.
She said Ghana would continue to discharge its mandate of awareness creation among the citizenry on the dangers in having illicit arms, and blacksmiths to stop illegal manufacture of guns.
The newspaper says that Ghana retained its position in Africa as the most indebted country to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as the country’s loan from the Fund shot up by 35.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2023.
According to the Fund’s Quarterly Finances July-ending 2023, the country’s outstanding loans from the Bretton Wood institution stood at Special Drawing Rights
(SDR) 1.689 billion as of July 31, 2023, equivalent to $2.227 billion.
This is $451 million SDR higher than the 1.246 billion SDR recorded on April 30, 2023.
Ghana received $600 million as a bailout package from the IMF in June 2023 to revive its economy after going through fiscal challenges.
According to the report, the country’s loan outstanding from the Fund is 9.55 per cent of Africa’s total SDR of 17.68 billion.
Importantly, Ghana had repaid SDR 8 million, equivalent to $10.55 million to the IMF.
The nation’s loan exposure to the Bretton Woods institution is classified as concessional lending with a low-interest financing.
Meanwhile, Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya also maintained their 2nd and 3rd positions respectively in Africa with the largest outstanding loans to the Fund as of July 31, 2023. While DR Congo owed the IMF SDR 1.142 billion, Kenya was indebted to the Fund to the tune of SDR 1.008.
They also received a disbursement of SDR 153 million and SDR 77 million to boost their balance of payments.
GIK/APA