The Sub-Saharan African Director of Enterprise Singapore, Mr Ragul Ghosh, has emphasised the need for companies in Africa to tap into the expertise of their counterparts in Singapore in order to penetrate the Asian market.
According to him, Asia and Africa had similar development trajectory, as such it was important for industry players to understand how Asia became a global powerhouse in the arena of business development.
Speaking at a media briefing on Singapore’s economic partnership with West Africa via zoom last Wednesday, Mr Ghosh said it was important to emphasise that trade between Africa and Asia had been growing steadily over the years and everything must be done to sustain the mutual benefits for all.
He said there was a great deal of experience that could be shared from Singapore with their West African counterparts to enable them further increase their operations as well as boost trade for companies in Asia.
“With this partnership, more companies in Africa will be able to deploy their solutions in Asia and use Singapore as a gateway to the Asian market,” he emphasised.
On her part, the Regional Director of Enterprise Singapore, West Africa, Ms Jean Ng, announced plans to set up a Singapore-branded supermarket and an online e-commerce mall in Ghana by the last quarter of this year.
She said the initiative would be done in collaboration with a Singaporean company, Vega, Maxmart supermarket and e-commerce platform, Jumia, which would attract more than 50 Singapore brands to Ghana.
Ms Ng said the collaboration would create employment for Ghanaians, especially the youth, and create an enabling environment for more partnerships between Ghanaian and Singaporean companies for increased trade.
From our keen interaction with industry leaders in the building and construction space, we have noticed that there has been general increase in awareness, and they want to incorporate the green agenda in commercial developments in the region,” she said.
She explained that Enterprise Singapore recently facilitated business matching, leading to the signing of a two-year distributorship agreement between Rigel and Water Comfort for distribution of bathroom sanitary wares in Ghana.
In addition, she explained that with the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Enterprise Singapore would continue to seek collaboration in economic diversification and trade, Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG), processing and manufacturing.
Ms Ng used the occasion to announce details of an upcoming Africa Singapore Business Forum (ASBF) scheduled for August 29 – 31, 2023, which would be held in Singapore.
She said her outfit was working to drive private sector business collaborations on the continent, and the forum offered this opportunity to businesses and enterprises in the country.
This year’s edition is on the theme “Driving Africa’s Growth through Digitalisation, Manufacturing and Sustainability”.
Enterprise Singapore, the government agency championing trade between Africa and Singapore and connecting Africa to the Asian market, has established three overseas centres in Africa.
BY CLIFF EKUFUL
