As part of its mandate to finance and develop strategic import substitute products to support the reduction of Ghana’s import bill, the Ghana Exim Bank (GEXIM) is collaborating with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration to champion its industrialization agenda.

Management of Ghana Exim Bank recently presented assorted Made-In-Ghana products to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration at its headquarters in Accra.

The presentation was a follow up to a strategic session the bank held in April 2021 with the then newly appointed diplomats to represent Ghana at the various diplomatic missions around the world.

The session gave the diplomats insight into the bank’s agenda to transform Ghana into an export led economy and highlighted the critical role of the foreign missions in achieving it.

The products on offer to the foreign missions included packaged jollof rice, waakye, gravy mix, groundnut soup, food spices, gari mix, shea butter, peanut and peanut butter, charcoal, koobi powder and salted fish paste. In addition were Ghanaian snacks such as nkate cake, roasted cashew, peanuts, and granola bars.

The Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Exim Bank responsible for Banking and Business, Rosemary Beryl Archer indicated the importance of the strategic partnership with the ministry and foreign missions to promote Ghanaian made products.

“On the occasion of our 65th independence anniversary, we want to utilize the platforms of our foreign missions to globalize our staples through value addition and improved packaging. We expect the heads of mission to explore avenues for improved packaging and state of the art equipment to support our industrialization agenda”, she stated.

She further added that, “it is important to work closely with the ministry and Ghanaian missions abroad to find new markets for these products. The support from our missions will enable our SMEs to meet the requirements for the international market and by so doing scale up in their operations.

“I am convinced this is the first step, which will be of great benefit for other key initiatives and projects we plan to roll out in our drive towards enhancing the capacity of Ghanaian exporters.”

Head of SME Banking at Exim Bank, Bright Darko, emphasized the importance of sending Ghanaian products to the foreign missions which will showcase them to the rest of the world saying he believes it has the potential to ultimately create market access for them.

“At Ghana Exim Bank, we go beyond just providing funding for our SMEs but also take interest in their growth and success by helping to build their capacities and make key market penetration. When we are able to help them to succeed, they can pay back their loans for us to be able to help more businesses.

“Beyond promotion and marketing, we expect the foreign missions to look at the value chain and explore opportunities for partnerships and building synergies with foreign companies to help our SMEs,” he stated.

The Director of Economic, Trade and Investment Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Bonaventure Adjavor, represented the Minister, Hon. Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. On his part, he expressed delight about the innovation employed by the businesses in packaging their products to meet international standards.

“It feels good to see these products and more importantly, knowing they are produced in Ghana, it brings me a lot of joy. It is such an important time to be sending these products to the missions around the world.

“During independence anniversary celebrations and other occasions, the missions host various guests including business owners and investors who get first-hand experience of our rich Ghanaian culture and heritage. It will certainly be a great opportunity to showcase these wonderful Made-in-Ghana products to the rest of the world,” he indicated.

The Ghana Exim Bank has a task to improve the country’s export competitiveness, foreign exchange earnings and balance of trade. The bank is strategically positioned to provide cutting–edge financial support, advisory and capacity building programmes aimed at eliminating barriers to springboard the nation’s economy into an export–driven one.