GNCCI requests for donor funding from stakeholders in acquiring data critical to its operations

The President of the Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GNCCI), Clement Osei-Amoako, has requested for donor funding from stakeholders in the Chamber’s quest in covering the cost of acquiring critical data for implementations pertinent to its operations.

According to him, the assistance will enable it to enlighten Ghanaians on the bottom-up decision on government policies.

He made this revelation while speaking at a stakeholders’ workshop on advocacy action on the theme: “Mobilizing business diagnostics data to inform bottom-up decision on government policies”.

He also believes that, with the requisite funding, the project will arm the Chamber with business and industry insights to shape government policies and programmes as well as multilateral support in ensuring a favorable business climate.

“We want to ask for more donor-funding to take care of the cost of getting the data for proper implementations, so you can reason on those lines and come to our aid. We want to make more engagement into the future for the sustainable growth of this economy. If we are able to do that, then we are also going to reduce inefficiency, and we’ll take proper risk when we are doing any business, reduce poverty and at the end of it all, we create employment for the youth of this nation”.

Also present at the workshop was Government Statistician, Prof. Samuel Kobina Annim, who noted that, the document will go a long way to facilitate growth for industry players.

“It’s important to say that Industry contracted the most and industry contracted by 5.7%. So the 3.4% contraction was mainly driven by industry as it contracted by 5.7%. And within the industry sector, the lead sub-sector that led to the contraction of 5.7% is the hotel and restaurant sub-sectors and this is not surprising because of the implications of the restrictions that were imposed. So in as much as BUSAC Fund has given this opportunity to the GNCCI to do this business diagnostic analysis, it is important as the president said, to engage more with the data”.

The Ghana National Chamber of Commerce and Industry with ample aid from the BUSAC Fund, has put together business advocacy projects in collaboration with key stakeholders including: ‘Advocating the Establishment of a Commodity Exchange Mechanism’; ‘Streamlining the Duty Drawback Process’; and ‘Advocacy to Improve Efficiency and Reduce the Cost of Doing Business at the Ports of Ghana’.

The latest, “Mobilizing Business Diagnostics Data to Inform Bottom-Up Decision on Government Policies”, comes at a time when members of the GNCCI have been heavily hit by the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The Business advocacy project contains research findings and policy recommendations critical for business and industry growth, value, resilience, and sustainability.