75% of businesses fail after 3 years - Business Development Minister

Minister for Business Development, Ibrahim Awal Mohammed, has said that 75 per cent of businesses in Ghana fail within the first three years.

He noted that those businesses that are able to exceed three years do not go beyond 10 years of operation, adding that “Small businesses constitute over 90 percent of all businesses in the country and the rate of failure is not acceptable.”

He disclosed this while speaking at the launch of the 2017 edition of the Citi Fm Business Festival that seeks to assemble the best resource persons to address pertinent business issues in different fields.

This year’s edition will present a series of outdoor and on-air business-education programmes, as well as create opportunities for Ghana’s business players to interact with each other through networking sessions and active engagement with business leaders, entrepreneurs, among others.

Alhaji Awal said, “Government wants to build the most business friendly environment in Africa, and we cannot do that if we are not ready to take risks.”

He therefore challenged business owners to dare to dream, adding that “it is the drive for successful businesses.”

Mr. Awal urged business owners to raise social capital by building relationships in the supply chain system that will give them access to vital information and to encourage young people know that as much as there are a lot of challenges, there are equally a lot of opportunities.

Yoofi Grant, CEO of Ghana Investment Promotion Centre, commended Citi Fm for their innovation and contribution to the business environment in Ghana.

He said that Ghana must highlight the importance of investment because of the vital role it plays in the development of the world, and Ghana cannot afford to be left out.

“There is a niche we have to unravel and take hold of and we must make business the priority of people,” he said.

Events lined up for Citi Business month include business forums, sales revolution summit, investment opportunity forum, real estate forum and many others.

As part of measures targeted at making this year’s festival a memorable one, innovative programmes have been added to satisfy the needs of different business levels.

These include the Management Boot Camp, Sales Revolution, Exceed and the Innovation Summit.