The Managing Director of Absa Bank Ghana, Dr. Edward Nartey Botchway, has stated that the biggest problem startups face in business is not finance, but rather structure.
Speaking at the Agribusiness Launchpad 2.0, organized by Impact Food Hub and Absa, Dr. Nartey Botchway argued that finance given to a business without the proper structure in place will eventually go to waste.
“Funding alone will not get us there. So conferences like this help us to bridge the gap, to help us to add on the funding that we all have to create,to ensure that when you get that funding, in addition to the funding you are then able to grow and to excel and to do the things that all of us believe that must be done.So funding works when it is combined with the right practise.” Dr. Nartey Botchway stated
He added that Ghana doesn’t lack ideas, nor does it lack products ,what it rather lacks is the ability to meet global needs and standards
“So we do not lack the ideas, we do not lack the produce. What we lack is to convert what we have into what the world wants.” he added
Dr. Nartey Botchway also highlighted the need to prioritize value addition as a continent , explaining that global interest already exists, and that the continent stands to unlock more in net exports once this is done.
“ And believe me, the world wants the produce of Africa.Last year, non-traditional exports out of Ghana amounted to 5 billion and was up by 30 percent. More than 8 out of 10 of this came from processed foods, cocoa paste, butter, and all of that, and all accounted for 1.8 billion dollars, nearly double the prior year. Yam exports went up by 5 fold. So value addition is not just a slogan, it is foreign exchange that we can earn as a country.” he stated
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