Charles Adu Boahen is Minister of State at the Finance Ministry
SPEECH BY THE HON. MINISTER OF STATE FOR FINANCE ON THE INAUGURATION OF THE GHANA EXIMBANK BOARD
Mr. Chairman,
Board Members of the Ghana Exim Bank,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
Good Afternoon once again. On behalf of my Minister, I extend congratulations to you all for your appointment as Directors to the Ghana Exim Bank Board.
On August 1st 2017, we inaugurated the first Ghana Eximbank Board under the administration of His Excellency, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo. Over the last 4-years, Ghana Eximbank has created a niche for itself as the Primary Financing Institution for the President’s Accelerated Industrialization Program – One-District-One-Factory, also called 1D1F and approved a total of GH¢2.1 Billion in loan facilities for 122 projects between March 2017 and December 2020.
To build on this success, Government is currently in the process of implementing policy actions through institutions such as the
● Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT),
● Ghana Integrated Incentive-Based Risk-Sharing System for Agricultural Lending (GIRSAL),
● Ghana Commodities Exchange (GCX),
● Development Bank Ghana, Venture Capital Trust Fund, Ghana Exim Bank,
● Ghana Infrastructure Investment Fund (GIIF) and
● Ghana Agricultural Insurance Pool (GAIP).
to build an ecosystem that will provide an efficient way to provide support and to finance at least 100 SMEs while creating a credit boom that will provide new jobs for our youth and citizenry. This is in line with Phase II of the Ghana CARES Program.
To this end, the Financial Sector Division of the Ministry of Finance has been tasked to develop a performance framework for these institutions so that their performances can be monitored and reported to the Minister of Finance on a regular basis.
It is the expectation of Government that, Ghana Exim will refocus its attention on outward growth strategies and take strategic steps that would drive the country’s export expansion agenda in order to reverse the contraction of US$7.4 billion we witnessed during the first half of 2020.
As you are well aware, Government has recently established the Development Bank Ghana which is expected to mobilize resources from internal and external sources and provide medium to long term funding to businesses through participating financial institutions. The Development Bank will be inaugurated toward the beginning of the fourth quarter.
This opens a new opportunity for GhanaExim to build strategic partnerships with the Development Bank for financing and rolling out innovative pipeline projects that would drive Ghana’s import substitution initiatives and export promotion programmes for the realization of the President’s vision of a “Ghana Beyond Aid” and the Ghana CARES Program.
To this end, the Ministry of Finance would expect the GhanaExim to;
● identify Ghanaian manufacturers with the potential to export;
● develop strategies to attract them and assist manufacturers with obtain long term financing support specifically for export markets;
● and thereby boosting Ghana’s export base and foreign exchange earning capacity as a country.
Recent data published by the Bank of Ghana suggests that new credit advances grew by 30.4% year-on-year to GHS15.8 billion by end June 2020. It is our hope that with the new board in place and with support from the Development Bank, we will continue to see growth in private sector advances as we seek to revamp our economy.
We also expect that Ghana Exim will collaborate with the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to build SME capacity, increase access to international markets and create more employment for the youth in Ghana.
Thankfully, Ghana Exim Bank is located in the same premises as the AfCFTA secretariat and with such proximity, we expect constructive collaboration between the two institutions towards creating funding programs that will benefit SMEs to lead the export of high-quality Ghanaian products and services to other African countries.
Your appointments to the Ghana Exim Board at this time is part of a well thought out plan to resource this institution with a dedicated and committed Board whose actions would be reflective of the President’s vision and passion for the industrial transformation of this country and the realization of “Sustained Economic Growth, Job Creation, Inclusive Prosperity for all and a Ghana Beyond Aid”.
While I congratulate you on your appointment to the Board, I would also urge you to put in your best in pursuing the mandate of GhanaExim bank and also justify the confidence the President has reposed in you.
Thank you.