Use Coronavirus To Help Turnaround Africa’s Economy

Mr Kwami Azumah, Senior Business Advisor with the Volta Regional Office of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), has said Africa must take advantage of the coronavirus pandemic to develop its local industrial capacity.

He said the virus had created a world situation that threatened international trade, and placed low income import-dependent economies in limbo, forcing the local production of essentials such as sanitizers.

Mr Azumah who was speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview, said the pandemic had exposed the risks associated with depending so much on foreign imports for countries like Ghana, and that stakeholders must take pragmatic steps to navigate the Nation out of such straits.

“Africa has all the resources and there are businesses that can be exploited. We need a paradigm shift from the past 63 years,” he said.

The business advisor added that the coronavirus pandemic presented an opportunity for the forward driving of Government's flagship One District One Factory initiative, which must be reviewed to ensure that essential industries were prioritised and developed.

Mr Azumah said industrial development would require that the youth were supported to develop entrepreneurial mindsets, and access the needed training and experience to successfully tap into the opportunities.

“We need to break away from this bogus, fraudulent, and archaic education system we inherited, that has been designed to benefit a few,” he said, adding that Government-academia-business collaboration must be fostered.

Mr Azumah noted that financial institutions must also be willing to deliver their expected roles in business development in the country.

He also said stakeholders must enhance information flow among the business community nationwide, adding, the NBSSI had business resource centres across the country, yet many within the entrepreneurial community were unaware.

---GNA