Mr Asare, Managing Director of Broadwater Company Ltd (middle), with his Turkish partner
Ghanaian participants in the just-ended business summit in Izmir, Turkey have expressed confidence that their participation in the summit would be translated into investment opportunities.
They were satisfied with the level of contacts and negotiations made so far, and believed that follow-ups would be useful for the full realisation of the objective of the summit.
The summit
The summit, which was held in the Turkish industrial city, Izmir, brought together investors from Mid-west Africa and Turkey in the construction, furniture, food, cosmetic textile and agricultural sectors to hold bilateral discussions.
It was organised by the Conference of Businessmen and Industralists in Turkiye (TUSKON) and attended by Turkey, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Nigeria and Niger.
The summit, dubbed, “Turkiye – Midwest Africa Trade Bridge summit”, created a platform for the participants to hold business bilateral discussions, sign deals and also participate in facility visits.
Investors’ impressions
On their impressions, the Managing Director of Rahma Company Ltd, a construction company, Mr Abdul Rahma Al-Hassan, said the visit enabled him to make contacts with companies of like minds and had exposed him to new technologies in his business line.
He said it also afforded him the opportunity to meet captains of other sectors such as furniture which he said would be a new area of opportunity.
The Managing Director of Broadwater Company Ltd, Mr Charles Osafo Asare, said the summit was successful because he had made a number of new contacts that he hoped to take opportunity of.
He was impressed with the quality of Turkish products, especially the furniture, adding that he was also in touch with a solar company and those dealing in frozen items such as chicken.
The Director of J-Spedi Company Ltd, an international freight forwarding and logistics company, Mr Joseph Agbaga, believed the summit was useful because it gave investors the opportunity to exchange ideas, interact and exposed them to new ideas.
He said the facility visits were equally revealing, “because it exposed us to the kind of technology the people there are using and their level of advancement,” and was happy that there were lots of lessons to be learnt from the Turkish business community.
The Director of Nadalls Company Ltd, dealers in paints and interior decorations, Mr Delano Delase Ahiekpor, for his part, said his company had learnt a lot during the summit and was able to strike business deals and sign some contracts.
He said even though the company imported finished products, it would soon commence the importation of semi-finished products so that the production line would be completed in Ghana.
“With this, apart from reducing cost, it would also create employment opportunities for the youth in the country,” he said.
For his part, Mr Yaw Dankwa, who is into real estates and tourism, was excited that he was able to get Turkish investors interested to invest in the real estates and tourism sectors in Ghana.
“I told them that we have the land, which is litigation free, and we are looking for partners to build apartments and they were excited,” he said.
Credit: Daily Graphic