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UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce
British High Commissioner to Ghana Jon Benjamin delivered a speech at the launch of the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce.
Hon Minister for Foreign Ministry, UK businesses represented tonight and all of you attending this important event, you are very welcome to the Residence and thank you for joining us.
It’s wonderful to be able to host tonight’s launch event for the UK Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), a project that has been some time in the making.
When I arrived here over two years ago it struck me that there were many successful national chambers of commerce in Ghana but no UK Chamber so I was extremely encouraged that the UK’s Department for International Trade chose Ghana as one of 40 countries worldwide in which to set up a new Chamber of Commerce, specifically in this case to support and increase bilateral trade between Ghana and the UK.
This is part of a wider UK Overseas Business Networks Initiative – an ongoing partnership between the British Chambers of Commerce in the UK, the Department for International Trade and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The aim is to transform the support available for British SMEs looking to do business in growing global markets which they may however be entirely unfamiliar with. It is also a crucial part of the UK Government’s ambitious drive to double the UK’s exports between 2010 and 2020 to £1 trillion and to increase the number of British companies exporting overseas by 100,000 in that same period of a decade.
Our Director of Trade at the High Commission, Sharon Ganney, along with Songhai Advisory here in Ghana started this project by conducting a feasibility study in 2014. That demonstrated a strong demand for a Chamber of Commerce from UK and Ghanaian business. So in short order we began the process of putting in place the mechanics to set up this Chamber, and just 18 months later here we happily are formally launching it.
The Chamber, known officially as the UK-Ghana Chamber of Commerce (UKGCC), will promote, foster, and represent UK business interests in Ghana – directly helping UK companies to identify market opportunities and providing them with a first point of call when looking to do business in and trade with Ghana. This will be another avenue for UK exporters to access high quality market support. It will represent the interests of UK investors looking to bring investments to Ghana and provide tailored support to existing UK investors.