Round table panels discussion at the virtual MTN webinar
MTN Ghana has held a virtual financial literacy webinar to equip business owners with practical knowledge to build financially smart and sustainable enterprises as part of efforts to promote financial literacy and strengthen the capacity of entrepreneurs.
The webinar formed part of activities marking MTN Ghana’s 30th anniversary and was held on the theme, “Making Money Moves: Building a Financially Smart and Sustainable Business.”
The speakers shared insights on financial discipline, business sustainability, digital payments, cash flow management, investment and wealth creation.
Speaking at the session, Yaw Saifah, Senior Manager for BankTech at MobileMoney Fintech Limited, urged entrepreneurs to separate their personal mobile money wallets from their business accounts to improve financial visibility and discipline.
He said mixing personal and business funds made it difficult for entrepreneurs to distinguish revenue from profit and determine how much should go into salaries and other expenses.
He explained that MobileMoney Fintech Limited provided separate platforms – the MoMo App for personal transactions and the MoMo Merchant App for business activities.
According to him, the Merchant App allowed business owners to monitor cash inflows and outflows and access tools such as invoicing to remind customers about outstanding payments.
“Separating personal and business funds gives you visibility and discipline,” he said, adding that both apps were available on the Google Play Store and Apple App Store.
He noted that digital payments provided verifiable records, including transaction values, timestamps and customer details, thereby reducing the need to second-guess employees and making it easier to track invoices issued and paid.
He said some entrepreneurs began financing expensive lifestyles immediately after recording revenue without first calculating their costs and profits.
“Don’t spend before you calculate your profit. You make a profit before you start spending; you don’t spend before you start making a profit,” he advised.
He cautioned entrepreneurs against using operating capital for donations, social obligations and other personal expenses.
Paul Mante, Managing Director of EDC Investments, said people did not need large sums of money to begin investing.
He said the One Million Club initiative was established to encourage young Ghanaians to save and invest consistently, with the goal of becoming millionaires by 2030 or 2035. The initiative was inspired by reports of the growing number of everyday millionaires globally.
He described the belief that investment required huge capital as a major misconception.
“You do not need a huge amount of money to invest. You can start with GH¢50,” he said.
Mr. Mante cited examples of investors who started with GH¢50 and GH¢100 monthly and grew their portfolios significantly by increasing their contributions over time.
He encouraged entrepreneurs without fixed salaries to invest small amounts whenever possible instead of waiting until they earned substantial incomes.
He added that making money and managing it required different skills, explaining that making money required risk-taking, while managing it required frugality and discipline.
By Prince Fiifi Yorke