The Universal Merchant Bank (UMB) has entered into a partnership with the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences (G.A.A.S) to organise a Public Forum on the prospects and challenges of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The scheduled three-day forum is on the topic: “The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA)- Challenges and Prospects.”
A statement issued by Kofi Safo Akyea of the Corporate Communications of the Universal Merchant Bank said the event was structured by GAAS to offer expert academic analysis of the challenges and prospects of AfCFTA with a specific assessment of its impact on economics and the law.
Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO of UMB, speaking on the collaboration, used the opportunity to highlight on the foundation of the bank.
“UMB was initiated as a policy bank by the State of Ghana in 1972. I daresay it is these sorts of deliberations that laid the conceptual foundation for the establishment of our Bank.”
Nana Dwemoh Benneh
The CEO indicated the bank’s readiness to partner with projects related to skill acquisition and leadership in relevant fields.
“We have always been interested in supporting the basic research and thought leadership, especially in banking, finance and economics in Ghana.”
Nana Dwemoh Benneh
Nana Dwemoh Benneh moreover, disclosed that the sponsorship forms part of a long line of thought leadership activity, including the Merchant Bank -Institute of Statistics Social and Economic Research Policy Dialogues in the early 2000s.
Madam Belinda Boamah, Executive Director of Strategy at the Bank said, “Our sponsorship of the event is part of the events to mark our 50th Anniversary.”
The New Frontiers of Growth
The Executive Director of Strategy noted that as the bank marked its milestone, “we are looking forward to the next frontiers of growth for ourselves and the industry.”
Madam Belinda Boamah added that AfCFTA presents these opportunities and as an indigenous bank, they are eager to learn from experts on a viable path forward in reaching new and potential markets. “A good example here would be on the question of trans-Africa payments.”
The statement further indicated that the 2022 edition would be headlined by eminent speakers including Dr Ernest Addison – Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Professor Appiagyei-Atua of the University of Ghana and Mrs Beatrice Chytor of AfCFTA Secretariat.
Meanwhile, AfCFTA is an ambitious trade pact to form the world’s largest free trade area by connecting almost 1.3 billion people across 54 African countries.
The agreement aims to create a single market for goods and services to deepen the economic integration of Africa. It has a combined GDP of US$2.5 trillion and has the potential of increasing intra-African trade by up to 52.3 per cent.
Ghana scored a diplomatic coup on July 22, 2019, when it secured the establishment of the AfCFTA Secretariat in Accra.
The GAAS public forums is designed to bridge the gap between the Academy and the public, through joint deliberations on topical issues in society.
