Category: Business

The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has received the Business Leader of the Year (Customer Service) award at the Ghana Business League Awards 2024 held in Accra.

The award, per the organizers, is a testament of the relentless efforts and remarkable contributions made by the customer service team and led by management showcasing committment to maintaining a consistent brand identity, goodwill and elevating standards within the avistion industry.

A statement issued in Accra by the Company said it would be recalled that Kotoka International Airport emerged ‘Winner’ of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) for Best Airport by Size and Region in Africa on three consecutive ocassions; 2019, 2020 and 2021.

It said the awards were in recognition of GACL’s commitment to prioritising customer experience to make the passenger journey a pleasant one.

The ASQ awards represent the highest possible recognition for Airport Operators around the world and recognizes excellence in customer service.

The statement said GAC
L remained committed to maintaining its high standards in customer care towards its passengers as they accept the award.

The Ghana Airports Company Limited (GACL) has received the Business Leader of the Year (Customer Service) award at the Ghana Business League Awards 2024 held in Accra.

The award, per the organizers, is a testament of the relentless efforts and remarkable contributions made by the customer service team and led by management showcasing committment to maintaining a consistent brand identity, goodwill and elevating standards within the avistion industry.

A statement issued in Accra by the Company said it would be recalled that Kotoka International Airport emerged ‘Winner’ of the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) for Best Airport by Size and Region in Africa on three consecutive ocassions; 2019, 2020 and 2021.

It said the awards were in recognition of GACL’s commitment to prioritising customer experience to make the passenger journey a pleasant one.

The ASQ awards represent the highest possible
recognition for Airport Operators around the world and recognizes excellence in customer service.

The statement said GACL remained committed to maintaining its high standards in customer care towards its passengers as they accept the award.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Opportunity International Savings and Loans Ltd. (OISL), a leading provider of financial services in the country, has held financial literacy forums for its SME and microloan clients.

The forums formed part of activities to mark the 20th anniversary celebrations of the financial company.

Mr. Kwame Owusu-Boateng, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Institution, said the forums were to facilitate an open dialogue to share insights and gather feedback from the clients to improve services and products for customers.

The CEO said the forums were also to shed more light on OISL’s digital platforms and how clients could use them to access services in a more efficient way.

He expressed gratitude to the clients for their valuable feedback and assured them of OISL’s continual commitment to the provision of excellent services.

Dr. Francis Takyi, the Chief Risk Officer of the Company, spoke about OISL’s SME Collateral Requirements, detailing the various types of collaterals needed for the various categories of
loans.

He elaborated on the ‘Five Cs’ of credit (character, capital, capability, condition, and collateral) considered during loan assessments.

Mr. Francis Owusu Ansah, the Chief Business Officer of OISL, guided the SME and microloan clients through the basic loan requirements, application processes, turnaround time, and post-disbursement protocols.

Some clients shared their success stories and congratulated OISL on its 20th anniversary.

They also commended OISL for its support during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The engagements took place on the 2nd and 5th of April in Accra and Kumasi, respectively.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Kayoyi Limited, a leading e-commerce company, has begun operations in the country with the goal to fulfill the long awaited desire of the ordinary Ghanaian consumers looking for quality products at their doorsteps.

All products listed on Kayoyi Ghana’s page are of top-notch quality with trusted brands and supplies to maximise customer satisfaction and build brand loyalty.

It is the only platform that has all Muslim products such as quality Abaya, Jalabs, Tasbaha, Islamic books amongst others.

Mr Senna Bortsi, Chief Executive Officer, Kayoyi Ghana, who briefed the Ghana News Agency about the operations of the company in the country, said, ‘The company, as an effective standards unit, ensures that all products listed on its page for sale are verified from trusted sources and manufacturers.’

Mr Bortsi said the company had the best rapid delivery system deployed across the country adding, ‘The delivery unit ensures customers get their products within a 24-hour mark period. It is revealing that this is one of
the hallmarks of Kayoyi everywhere it operates, and the company is making efforts to improve this even further.’

He said the company had several promotional campaigns all-year-round adding, ‘The current Eid Promo, which seeks to give customers the opportunity to buy any product on our webpage at a reduced price, is nothing but the brightest campaign so far in the e-commerce sector in Ghana.’

He said: ‘With its added advantage of comfort and convenience, bespoke orders, flexible payment plan, on time delivery and many more is nothing less than mouth-watering packages for the Ghanaian consumer. These and many more campaigns will follow in the coming years.’

He touched on the company’s infrastructure, saying it had deployed an advanced state-of-the-art infrastructure to ensure access, convenience, responsive, user-friendly interface, and safe e-commerce transactions in the country.

Mr Bortsi spoke about corporate social responsibility and indicated, ‘The company empowers its customers, suppliers, staff, and
the public in ways that have an overall impact on the operational environment. Regular educational programmes will be organised for customers on best customer service, fashion trends and wardrobe malfunction remedies.’

Kayoyi Ghana has an exceptional customer relations culture with its well-trained customer centric staff, after sales inquiry and above all continuous communication pattern to assist the customers satisfy their desires in products purchase and enquiry,’ he said.

Source: Ghana News Agency

Zenith Bank Ghana capped off a stellar year in 2023, with total assets surging by nearly 44 per cent to reach GHS13.86 billion as profit before tax moved to GHS1.02 billion.

This represented a 284.35 per cent reversal from the GHS554.6 million loss recorded in 2022 as a result of the Domestic Debt Exchange Programme (DDEP).

A driving force behind the performance was high customer confidence in the Bank as deposits grew by GHS3.32 billion, to reach GHS11.7 billion for the period.

Similarly, the Bank expanded its loan book to GHS2.25 billion, GHS390.7 million higher than in the previous year.

Mr Henry C. Onwuzurigbo, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Ghana, said, ‘We are glad to see the trust our customers have placed in the bank’s stability and financial strength. This deposit mobilisation strengthened our liquidity position, allowing us to continue providing essential financial services to our clientele.’

‘Again, the upswing in lending activity is a positive indicator for Ghana’s e
conomy. It indicates growing confidence in businesses and a potential increase in economic productivity,’ he added.

Consequently, interest income – a vital indicator of a bank’s lending and investment activities – surged by GHS317 million to GHS1.38 billion, highlighting the success of its strategies in loan origination and managing investment portfolios.

Additionally, fee and commission income grew by GHS49 million.

But the real highlight of the year was the exceptional performance in trading. Net trading income more than doubled from GHS156.7 million to GHS332.6 million, potentially fueled by favourable market conditions or strategic trading decisions by the Bank.

The Bank had to steer through some challenges which impacted its net profit in 2023 such as the GHS109 million impairment loss on financial assets, which impacted the bottom line.

This, however, was a tenth of the GHS1.19 billion recognised in 2022.

Operating income appreciated by GHS546 million to GHS1.6 billion, highlighting the underlying
strength of the bank’s core business activities in generating healthy and consistent revenue.

The bank’s shareholders’ funds also improved significantly by 68 per cent from GHS982million post-DDEP to GHS1.66 billion due to its exceptional performance in 2023.

Market watchers believe that by tackling the impairment losses and implementing cost optimisation strategies, growing its risk assets as well as investment portfolio, Zenith Bank Ghana is well-positioned to translate its impressive revenue growth into long-term financial success, especially as the bank’s focus on customer satisfaction and strategic revenue generation sets a strong foundation for a prosperous future.

The Bank’s 2023 performance positions it for continued success in the years to come.

Source: Ghana News Agency

ADAMA West Africa Limited, a leading manufacturer of pesticides, has engaged stakeholders in the cocoa industry as part of measures to provide a robust cost-effective supply network to enhance productivity of cocoa farms.

The engagement afforded the company’s management an opportunity to obtain feedback from Chief Farmers, Cocoa Input Dealers and Distributors in the value chain on its products’ efficacy.

Mr Joshua Banana Awutey, the Marketing and Development Manager of ADAMA West Africa Limited, told participants that the company’s products were well-researched, tried, tested and safe for use.

He said with extensive global presence and direct reach to farmers, ADAMA West Africa continued to identify problems facing cocoa farmers and address them through innovative solutions.

Mr Awutey said ADAMA products such as Banjo Forte 400, Vamos 500 SC, Ema Star 112 EC, Acetar Star 46 EC, and Trivor 310 DC among others, were effective and efficient in controlling major insect pests and diseases on cocoa.

He, howeve
r, cautioned farmers not to mix two products or chemicals together to avoid complications, and appealed to farmers to read instructions on labels and seek advice from extension officers before spraying the chemicals on their crops.

He reminded farmers that with regular farm sanitation, the insect population in the farm would reduce without spraying.

The Western-South Regional Manager of Cocoa Health and Extension Division (CHED) of the Ghana Cocoa Board (COCOBOD), Mr Samuel Osei, said the news from the Chief Executive Officer of COCOBOD that Ghana had lost over 500,000 hectares of cocoa swollen shoot virus disease was a serious concern to the sector, especially to the Division.

He added that cocoa production had declined in the last three years thereby affecting the local economy.

He said COCOBOD, therefore, welcomed the collaboration with ADAMA West Africa Limited to sensitize cocoa technical officers, farmers, and Agro Input Dealers on the right and appropriate use of their products for maximum yields.

M
r Osei asked ADAMA West Africa to continue to produce more potent and quality products to mitigate the challenges farmers faced on their farms.

He said as part of the Productivity Enhancement Programme, COCOBOD had earmarked 900,000 hectares of cocoa farms for pruning throughout the year.

Out of this figure, 222,798 hectares would be pruned in the Western-South Region, he noted.

He said as part of the Agenda Restoration, cocoa farmers in the Western-South Region were being supported technically to increase their production through the adoption of good agronomic practices such as pruning, poultry manure application, foliar fertilizer application, hand pollination and effective crop protection to produce at least 300,000 metric tonnes of cocoa between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.

The Western-South Manager said COCOBOD would assist all cooperatives, associations, and groups with standard and motorized pruners as well as fuel and lubricants for massive cooperative-led pruning exercise of all cocoa farms in the Re
gion.

He called on cocoa farmers to support the Agenda Restoration (Ah-Res-300K!) to restore and revamp cocoa production in the Region for enhanced economic activities in the cocoa growing communities.

Source: Ghana News Agency

In a significant engagement underscoring international collaboration for sustainable development, Development Bank Ghana (DBG) hosted a distinguished delegation from Germany’s Bundestag (Federal Parliament).

The visit took place at DBG’s headquarters recently.

The German delegation was led by Mr. Volkmar Klein, MP, representing the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, and Mr. Lutz Lienenkämper, the State’s former Finance Minister.

They were joined by Mrs Ramona Simon, Deputy Head of Cooperation at the German Embassy in Ghana, alongside KfW Development Bank’s officials, namely, Ms. Sarah Christin Petrenz, Senior Portfolio Manager, and Mr. Isaac Hagan, Portfolio Coordinator – Financial Sector, representing the German state-owned development bank’s Accra office.

Discussions during the meeting spanned DBG’s forward-looking initiatives, including the Green Finance and Investment Facility and the DBG Guarantee product, highlighting DBG’s commitment to fostering economic resilience and sustainability.

The Green C
redit Line (financed by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), implemented by KfW) is envisaged to start implementation in the second quarter of 2024 in Ghana and is expected to complement DBG’s efforts in green financing. 

A focal point of the visit was the introduction of the upcoming 3i Africa Summit, slated for May 13th-15th, 2024, in Accra. This summit promises to be a ground-breaking event, focusing on technology opportunities within Africa’s financial sector.

It aims to explore market dynamics, the leapfrogging of legacy technologies, and the crucial dialogues needed at the intersection of policy, finance, and technology.

With a core emphasis on inclusion and sustainability, the 3i Africa Summit aspires to drive meaningful discourse and actionable insights for the continent’s financial ecosystem.

The DBG team, led by Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Michael Mensah-Baah and including key officials such as Chief Risk Officer, Dr. Prince Adjei, and heads of various
strategic departments, shared insights into DBG’s operational strategies and its vision for a transformative impact in collaboration with its partners.

Reflecting on the discussions, Michael Mensah-Baah remarked, ‘The German Government, through KfW, has been very supportive of DBG and its efforts to foster economic growth by empowering local businesses. We have had fruitful discussions on our

operations, our agenda for 2024 and how we are positioned for greater impact through our lending activities and technical assistance to local businesses in collaboration with our partner banks and agencies respectively. We look forward to our ongoing collaboration and believe that together with our German partners, we will be able to deliver significant transformation. We are primed for this.’

Mr. Volkmar Klein, MP from the German State of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the other hand, commended DBG on the work it is doing and how far DBG has come.

Development Bank Ghana is a wholesale financial institution established b
y the Government of Ghana.

DBG acts as a provider of long-term capital to the market with a mission to foster strong partnerships to finance economic growth, create jobs, and build capacity for SMEs.

The organisation is committed, aligned and strengthened to achieve UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) ambitions and targets while implementing an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategy aimed at creating shared value and impact with purpose.

The bank has received funding from the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the KfW Development Bank and the African Development Bank. 

Source: Ghana News Agency