Christiane Laibach and Roosevelt Ogbonna shake hands after signing while Dr Gerd Muller and Dr Ernest Addison applaud
Germany’s Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development, Dr Gerd Muller, on Monday joined Ghana’s Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, Governor of the Central Bank, Dr Ernest Addison and a host of German business moguls at the Kempinski Hotel in Accra to launch a new service to close financing gaps.
Known as the ‘German Desk – Financial Support and Solutions,’ the service, the third to be launched in Africa after Kenya and Nigeria, enables local companies to gain access to financial support and solutions via point of contact that combines all the products and services offered by Access Bank Ghana with the network and support of the delegation of German Industry and Commerce and DEG.
Roosevelt Ogbonna, Deputy Group Managing Director of Access Bank Plc, in a speech at the launch, said that “the German Desk Ghana will provide financing solutions for local companies wishing to acquire German equipment or use German services. These also include financial services such as setting up accounts, providing short to medium term credit lines, services for financing trade and transaction banking. Companies can benefit from the combined network of Access Bank, German Chamber Network (AHK) Ghana and DEG.”
He also said the initiative would give Access Bank a competitive advantage in the industry and show the bank’s expertise in providing need-based solutions for customers across all its operating countries.
The range of services include setting up a bank account through trade finance products and transaction banking to credit lines or investment financing while also companies will also be assisted in the process of preparing foreign direct investment in Ghana,” he added.
Christiane Laibach, Chairwoman of DEG’s management board, said DEG was pleased to open a German Desk, together with the delegation of German Industry and Commerce and Access Bank, to enhance the relationship between German and Ghanaian companies.
De Martin Wansleben, Chief Executive of the DIHK, emphasised the importance of having a German Desk, especially at a time when access to suitable funding in young emerging markets was often a challenge.
Noting that the cooperation would boost the competitiveness of German companies in Ghana, Dr Wansleban indicated that “the stronger the local private sector, the more business engagement from Germany we will see, both in trade and investment. Ghanaian companies are customers and potential partners of German business. It must be our joint effort, spearheaded by AHK and the German Desk to identify and support Ghanaian companies to cooperate with German companies.”
By Samuel Boadi