ADVERTISEMENT

Enterpreneurs Require Open Market To Thrive

Mr Rashid Pelpuo has called for an open trading market for entrepreneurs to enable them trade with their counterparts in other countries.

Minister of State at the Presidency in-charge of Private Sector Development, Mr Rashid Pelpuo

The Minister of State at the Presidency in-charge of Private Sector Development, Mr Rashid Pelpuo, has stressed the need for an open trading environment for local entrepreneurs to be able to trade with their counterparts in other countries.

This, he said, was necessary because an open trading environment was a pre-requisite for entrepreneurial development in any country.

“Trying to break into the markets of our neighbours will be difficult because of challenges we all know about at the border and the ports. We need an open trading environment; borders have become increasingly irrelevant, as the global supply chain expands,” he explained.

An open trading system among countries means that the markets of the trading countries are liberalised and as such there are less or in some cases no restrictions on the entry and exit of goods and services.

ADVERTISEMENT

Mr Pelpuo was speaking at the Graphic Business-Fidelity Bank Breakfast Meeting in Accra on March 17. The event was on the theme: “Supporting Ghanaian/Local entrepreneurs.”

According to him, custom restrictions of all kinds at the borders of neighbouring countries made trade facilitation difficult for most entrepreneurs.

“There are restrictions of all kinds and this simply creates a difficulty in trade facilitation which can cripple firms and entrepreneurs. Power is placed in the hands of privileged elites who control domestic markets, but our local entrepreneurs should be able to reach out to their counterparts anywhere in Ghana and beyond,” he added.

Again, he said entrepreneurs needed a level playing field for competition, explaining that “entrepreneurs need to know that their ideas and quality of their work are the ultimate determinants of their success. ”

This, according to him, was necessary because they had to be assured that their property and intellectual rights were protected, adding that they should also be able to challenge laws that were inimical to the growth of their enterprise.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Minister, who is also in charge of Public Private Partnership (PPP), said entrepreneurship was a key component of economic development, explaining that it was one of the strongest social forces that drove an economy.

Making reference to the 1960s, he said the economy of Ghana and South Korea were at par, but currently South Korea had a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita income close to US$30,000, which was more than 20 times that of Ghana.

“The success story of South Korea is nothing but the power of entrepreneurship. We have local entrepreneurs extending their influence globally and creating value for their countries thereby adding to the size and expansion of their economy,” he said.

He said economies that had the legal and enabling framework to support entrepreneurship tended to benefit more from it.”

JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!

Unblock notifications in browser settings.
ADVERTISEMENT

Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:

Email: eyewitness@pulse.com.gh

ADVERTISEMENT