The Ghana Trade Fair Company will this year be focusing on the use of e-commerce in its 23rd edition of the International Trade Fair Exhibition.
The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Trade Fair Company, Dr Agnes Adu, tells Joy Business one of the major hurdles businesses face has been the oversight on how powerful technology can drive local artisanal businesses.
“The world is moving fast, we can’t be left out as a country. Local businesses must be able to compete with counterparts in other jurisdictions through e-commerce. There’s no need for customers to walk up your shop to patronize anything. Adopting technology must be a priority and we at the Trade Fair will make sure CEOs and founders of small businesses are equipped with e-commerce tools,” she said.
This year’s 23rd Ghana International Trade Fair and Exhibition will see over 600 exhibitors display various goods and services. The fair is over a 12-day period from February 28 to March 11.
The theme for this year’s exhibition is: “Made in Ghana, Globally Accepted”. Meanwhile, Deputy Trade Minister, Carlos Ahenkorah, has assured all struggling local entities of access to the medium to long-term finances.
Rebuilding
Dr Adu stated that the next level for the Trade Fair would entail rebuilding the facility into an international standard for the company to regain its past glory.
She added that the rebuilding of the facility was to help make the centre a trade hub in the West African sub-region and the preferred trading destination for the country’s global partners.
“So the facility, as it exists currently, cannot hold the type of international fairs that we are mandated to do because the rooms are small, and most parts of the facility have broken down, hence the need for a facelift,” she said.
Changing the fortune
Dr Adu, who took office in the second half of last year, said in the interim the company was embarking on aggressive measures to improve the fortunes of the company.
“We met employee salary arrears of about 18 months when we took office last year, but we are gradually putting measures in place to change that entirely,” she said.
