We’ll make local firms competitive – Ibrahim Awal

Small scale indigenous businesses in Ghana will benefit immensely from government sponsored capacity-building initiatives that will make them both locally and internationally competitive, the Nominee for Business Development, Mr Ibrahim Mohammed Awal has revealed.

Speaking to the Appointments Committee of Parliament during his vetting on Tuesday, Mr Awal stressed the importance of building the capacity of local firms to equip them with the muscles to compete effectively.

“We are going to nurture and handhold our businesses till they are able to survive on their own; we will make sure they can access cheap credit and provide them access to international markets,” Mr Awal stated.

The Nominee said his outfit would leverage on EXIMBANK set up by the previous administration to assist local businesses to access cheap credit.

On public sector reforms, Mr Awal promised collaboration with other ministries to ensure that agencies in the private sector enhance the delivery and effectiveness of government service.

According to him, an effective government service will service the private sector to perform.

“Promoting an effective private sector will make sure the private sector grows,” Mr Awal added.

The Nominee espoused the policy of making Ghana a nation of entrepreneurs when he explained that government will champion the creation of business incubators through a collaboration between government and the academia.

“The school incubator system that obtains in the United States and China could be replicated here in Ghana where students, especially in the tertiary level are taught to come up with business plans, and these plans are supported into viable projects,” the accomplished businessman explained.

According to him, “by the time they leave school, they would be able to start their own businesses, employ people.“

Government, he said would improve the regulatory framework to support the smooth registration of businesses in the country to allow the private sector to operate more smoothly.

The move is aimed at making Ghana a business-friendly nation where bottlenecks in registering entities and enterprises will be removed to expand economic activities.

Citing the current regulatory framework as a hindrance to business registration, Mr Awal maintained that government will take a relook at the registration regime to serve as an avenue of encouragement the private sector to expand their operations. “One of the earliest things we will do is to look at the regulatory framework.

He argued that it is important to measure the rate of growth of the private sector by monitoring the ease at which members of the sector register their activities for operations. The Nominee pointed out that one of the cardinal objectives of the government was to encourage the private sector to operate freely by registering their enterprises without delays.