Elizabeth Ofosu -Adjare
The Minister for Trade, Agribusiness and Industry, Elizabeth Ofosu –Adjare, has expressed the government’s commitment to leverage on various reforms to create a sustainable business environment that unlocks new opportunities for growth and development.
Speaking at the launch of the Business Ready (B-Ready) 2024 report by the World Bank Group yesterday in Accra said such reforms will help boost manufacturing, advance agribusiness and expand access to external markets.
According to the Minister, her outfit is implementing a comprehensive business regulatory reform programme (BRR), to tackle systemic challenges, streamline existing business regulation aimed at ensuring quality and coherence of new regulations.
She stated that the reforms will not only harness the expertise of the private sector but will also remove longstanding barriers that have hindered businesses in the country from realising their full potential.
B-Ready Report
The Business Ready (B-Ready) report produced by the World Bank Group assessed the global business climate including Ghana’s performance.
It also provided a comprehensive assessment of business regulations, market competition access to finance, labour dynamics and the ease of doing business across countries in the sub-region.
The Minister emphasised that many businesses, especially Small Medium Enterprises (SME’s) still face difficulties in assessing finance, navigating complex regulation and competing in the global market with a significant portion of the informal sector workforce operating outside the formal regulatory framework thereby limiting their potential for growth.
“This is where Be-Ready comes in readily. The Be-Ready initiative launched by the World Bank as a successor to the ease of doing business is not just a set of metrics, it is a road map for creating a business environment that is inclusive, sustainable and digitally driven,” she said.
The Minister further mentioned that though the report provided rankings of the performance of various countries, it will also help provide an ecosystem where businesses could thrive, create jobs for inclusive growth and prosperity for all Ghanaians.
Present at the launch were representatives of the World Bank Group including, Division Director for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone, Robert Taliercio O’brien, government officials, members of the academia, executives and members of business associations, Civil Society Organisations, (CSOs) industry players and many other distinguished personalities.
By Ebenezer K. Amponsah