Engineering Week Celebration (tamale 2015) And Sada Business & Investment Forum (sabif 2015)

Theme: "Engineering, Opportunities and Shared Prosperity in the Savannah Region of Ghana"

TAMALE, MARCH 24-28, 2015

Accra, January 21, 2015 --The Ghana Institution of Engineers (GhIE) and the Savannah Accelerated Development Authority (SADA) today launched a ground-breaking event which seeks to bring together Ghanas engineering fraternity and a wide range of local and international stakeholders interested in and committed to the development of Northern Savannah Ecological Zone (NSEZ) of Ghana.

In a statement read on behalf of Ing. Magnus L. Quashie, President of the Ghana Institution of Engineers, the Vice President of the Institution, Ing. Mrs Carlien Bou-Chedid noted as indigenous Engineers, we believe that one of the key drivers that support the SADA effort in alleviating poverty, empowering Ghanaians, and achieving the goals of the MDGs is to apply engineering expertise to spearhead an integrated, sustainable, and rapid infrastructure development. We look forward to harnessing local and indigenous knowledge and expertise, opportunities and investment to improve the quality of life of Ghanaians.

The Forum is the first collaboration of its kind between GhIE (who are celebrating their Annual Engineers Conference, dubbed Tamale 2015), and SADA (who are using this opportunity to launch the SADA Business and Investment Forum  SABIF 2015). Other partners include Traditional Authorities, the University of Development Studies (UDS), the Ghana Investment Promotion Center (GIPC), USAID-FinGAP, the World Bank Group funded Ghana Commercial Agriculture Project (GCAP), various multilateral and bilateral development institutions, CSOs, private businesses and student and youth groups. It is designed to be transactional in nature, combining exhibitions with technical dialogue session, and is expected to help broker technological knowhow as well as business and investment deals, particularly in the areas of Agriculture, Agro-business and Infrastructure.

We must say that, this event is coming on as a result of the proactiveness of the Ghana Institution of Engineers and we urge all professional bodies/associations to emulate their sterling example,notes Angelina Mornah Domakyaareh , SADA Board Chairperson. On the back of the Engineering conference, SADA will seek to draw in the private sector and major local and international investors and development actors to support our development agenda.

The high point of this event will be the high level dialogue session to be chaired by the President of the Republic, H.E. John Dramani Mahama. A special session focusing on Agriculture, Climate Change and Food Security will be facilitated by JAK Foundation, and a grand durbar of chiefs and cultural events will be a crowning moment. Also invited are global high profile speakers including Victor Koh from Singapore, Dr. Ken Kwaku, formally of Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency of the World Bank Group and former senior advisor to President Mkapa of Tanzania as well as Charles Abugre CEO of SADA and Dr. George Donkor, Vice President of ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development.

The many benefits to be derived from the Forum by participants include an exhibition of products and services, direct business-to-business match-making, sealed business and investments deals and unprecedented networking opportunities, all of which would ultimately lead to job creation and the socio-economic development of the NSEZ.

The NSEZ covers five regions (Northern, Upper East, Upper West, Brong Ahafo and Volta) representing the Northern Half of Ghana (40% of Ghana). With a population of 11 million people, this enclave is endowed with vast natural resources of flat reach arable lands, water bodies and mineral resources including gold, clinker and iron ore. The area is blessed with a healthy tropical climate and a highly productive and hardworking labor force. It is the bridge between the southern half of Ghana and the growing markets of the Sahelian neighbors to the north. The NSEZ is indeed the emerging development frontier in Ghana and West Africa!

For more information on the Forum, we encourage you to visit www.sadagh.orgor http://ghie.org.gh/tamale2015/.