Participants on LBS’ Owner-Manager Programme recently concluded a five-day visit to Ghana as part of the programme’s goal to expose them to expand their businesses beyond Nigeria and encourage inter-African trade.
The programme was organised in partnership with the University of Ghana Business School and KPMG Ghana to ensure participants were comprehensively informed of what it takes to successfully do business in Ghana. They were also informed about opportunities in specific industries such as real estate and agriculture in Ghana.
Academic Director for the Owner-Manager Programme, Dr Henrietta Onwuegbuzie defended the choice of destination saying, “In the last five years, we’ve been to other African countries such as Kenya and Rwanda. This time, we decided to explore a West African country and we chose Ghana for its proximity advantage.”
At the roundtable discussion which held at the Graduate Campus of UGBS, the Ghana Investment Promotion Council were also present to enlighten the participants on the regulatory requirements and incentives for doing business in Ghana and participants were advised to study new market trends before committing resources.
Dr Onwuegbuzie said, “In addition to the sessions given by KPMG Ghana and the University of Ghana Business School, we wanted to hear experiences from Ghanaian entrepreneurs. From the frankness of their presentations, it became clear that to navigate Ghana successfully, it is safer to go into joint ventures with Ghanaian entrepreneurs.”
Participants also visited two major Ghanaian entrepreneurs, Kasapreko, makers of the herbal alcoholic product, Alomo Bitters, and a pharmaceutical giant, Kinapharma. Networking dinners and sessions were also held, where Ghanaian delicacies such as Banku and tilapia were enjoyed. Finally, the participants were hosted by the Nigerian High Commission in Ghana where they were promised assistance and enablement in the event of a solid interest in setting up a business in the country.
The week-long event ended with a visit to cultural sites.
