Dr Felix Anyah, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Korle-Bu Teaching Hospital, has been adjudged the Overall Best Public Sector CEO of the Year 2017 at the Eightth Ghana Entrepreneur and Corporate Executive Awards held over the weekend.
Dr Daniel Mckorley, the Group Chairman of Mcdan Group of Companies, was adjudged the Overall Best Entrepreneur of the Year 2017, while Mrs Jemima Oware, the Registrar-General of the Registrar General’s Department won the Public Sector Woman CEO of the Year 2017.
Dr Matthew Opoku Prempeh, the Minister of Education and Mr John Peter Amewu, the Minister of Lands and Natural Resources, received honorary awards on the night.
Dr Opoku Prempeh was awarded the Distinguished Public Officer Best Minister of the Year for the successful roll-out of the free Senior High School Policy, while Mr Amewu was recognised as the Distinguished Public Officer Entrepreneur Hall of Fame for his relentless fight against illegal small-scale mining.
The event, organised by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana in collaboration with the Ministry of Trade and Industry, recognised the invaluable contribution of entrepreneurs, business executives and corporate institutions towards the socio-economic development of the nation over the past 12 months.
“Enhancing Business Growth through Corporate Entrepreneurship Development” was the theme chosen for the event, which attracted captains of industries, chief executive officers of companies and public sector institutions, Ministers of States and the Diplomatic Community.
In all, 33 personalities and corporate entities were rewarded for their immense contributions to the national economy.
The awards were grouped under four categories namely, the Corporate Chief Executive, Public Sector, Entrepreneur and Honorary awards.
They were presented with plaques and citations at a colourful ceremony in Accra.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, in a speech read on his behalf by Mr Robert Ahomka Lindsey, the Deputy Minister of Trade, said the platform should be used to assess the contributions of entrepreneurs and how best they could contribute towards enhancing the fortunes of the nation through wealth and job creation.
He said government recognised the difficulty young entrepreneurs in developing countries like Ghana went through in accessing quality business development services.
He said government would establish enterprise support and business incubation centres across the entire metropolitan, municipal and districts to provide business services to young and upcoming entrepreneurs.
According to him, the centres would offer technological and business support services to small and medium scale enterprises to thrive so as to support government’s industrialisation agenda.
The President added that the centres would promote trade facilitations, noting that, through African Growth Opportunity Act, the country’s export to the United States of America had reached USD$12 million in 2016.
President Akufo-Addo noted that the survival rate of new business in developing countries was very low, which was pegged at three out of five in the first five years, with 40 per cent survival rate.
He said government had strong conviction that businesses must survive in order to create more jobs for the teeming youth and support the country’s industrialisation drive anchored on “Ghana Beyond Aid” agenda.
The President gave the assurance that the government would provide the enabling macroeconomic environment to ensure predictable future for businesses for sustainable economic growth.
He said policies and programmes such as the paperless ports system aimed at easing business operations at the ports and establishment of industrial parks in economic zones, would enhance business operations, while access to long and medium term funds would turn around the fortunes of local entrepreneurs to engender socio-economic development.
President Akufo-Addo said government’s flagship programme, “One-District, One-Factory was designed to bring industrialisation to the door steps of every Ghanaian.
He reiterated government’s commitment to make Ghana the most attractive environment for doing business on the continent, noting that, all sectors of the public sector were undergoing reforms to facilitate that process, saying; “promoting public-private dialogue approach is the way to go”.
President Akufo-Addo reminded them that the government’s efforts of achieving industrial transformation, economic growth and job creation depended greatly on entrepreneurs and, thus, called for continued collaboration between the public and the private sector to achieve the aspirations of the citizens and move the country forward.
<<Print>>