A total of 180 companies exporting under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) have been selected as beneficiaries of the Facilitation Programme Support.
The selected companies are currently undergoing an assessment to determine their specific needs and facilitation support.
The Facilitation Programme Support is a market expansion programme aimed at boosting Ghana’s intra-African trade.
A Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa, said this on Monday at a training organised for selected journalists in Peduase.
The exercise organised by the Ministry of Information in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme(UNDP)was to strengthen the capacity of the media, through mentorship and content as well as engage them on the agreement on AfCFTA.
It was also to improve on journalists’ knowledge and help them advocate on how Ghanaians can leverage AfCFTA to expand access to continental and international markets.
MrKrapa said when properly implemented, the support programme would accelerate the readiness and participation of Ghanaian businesses under AfCFTA.
He said his outfit was also implementing a 10-point industrial transformation agenda to build the capacities of both domestic and export markets.
The 10-point transformational agenda he said included the National Industrial Revitalisation Programme, One District One Factory Initiative; Strategic Anchor Industries; the One Region, One Park Policy to establish Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones across the country;
The rest are the Small and Medium Enterprises(SMEs) and Entrepreneurship Development; the National Export Development Programme; Enhancing Domestic Retail Infrastructure, Business Regulatory Reforms, Industrial Sub-contracting Exchange and improving Public-Private Sector Dialogue.
Mr Krapasaid the target market for the AfCFTA was estimated to constitute some 1.3billion people and projected to rise to 1.7 billion by 2030, out of which about 600 million would be middle class.
He said an aggregated Gross domestic product (GDP) would range from $2.1 to $3.4 trillion or $6.7 trillion at Purchasing Power Parity terms.
He was also of the view that an aggregate private and business-to-business consumption was expected to constitute $4 trillion and growth in intra-African trade by some 52.3 per cent adding that the media has an important role to play in the implementation of the AfCFTA.
“Without you, and your active collaboration with government in this endeavour, businesses and SMEs, will not understand fully this potentially life changing agreement,” he stated.
He called on the media to create opportunities for businesses to provide input into the implementation of the agreement, as they shared lessons from their own experiences.
FROM JEMIMA ESINAM KUATSINU, PEDUASE
