The Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Standard Chartered Group, Bill Winters, has reinforced the Group’s continuous commitment to Ghana and Africa.
He remarked that Standard Chartered was committed to being a progressive partner to Ghana for its growth prospects.
He reinforced the commitment on Tuesday, October 10, 2023, when Bill paid a courtesy call on President Akufo-Addo at Jubilee House.
According to him, the Group’s investments in Africa and Ghana in Innovation and Digital comprised investment in a platform that would benefit small and medium scale enterprises to digitise. The platform was first launched in India and will be launched soon in Ghana.
The CEO also mentioned that Standard Chartered continued to be a connector bank, providing support to clients leveraging the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and other trade activities to scale up their businesses.
Accompanied by Mansa Nettey, the Banks CEO in Ghana, Bill thanked President Akufo-Addo for the continued support and trust in Standard Chartered.
He congratulated the government for the work done in this “difficult times” which he acknowledged was global.
Though he opined that Ghana, like the rest of the world, was not yet out of the woods, Bill expressed optimism at seeing a positive turn around shortly.
DOING OUR BEST
In his response, President Akufo-Addo indicated that, the government was doing its best in the midst of the difficult economic crisis.
He was, however, grateful to Ghanaians and the financial sector, for their support to the government, citing the debt restructuring, “which you (StanChart) also had a bite.”
The president pointed out that, it was necessary that moving forward, the government and the private sector collaborated to find sustainable means of funding the sector.
He indicated that the government was committed to the IMF-supported programme, and assured that it would revitalise the base of the Ghanaian economy.
OTHER ENGAGEMENTS
Bill also paid a courtesy call on the second deputy Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Elsie Addo Awadzie.
They discussed the evolution of regulatory landscape to reflect key developments and innovation in the global financial environment (Crypto currency, Fintech etc).
Bill engaged clients and key stakeholders of the Bank at an economic roundtable
The session focused on growth opportunities for businesses and the country.
Participants engaged on the major factors shaping the operationalisation of AfCFTA, how businesses are leveraging it to scale, and how Standard Chartered can support them as a connector bank.
Further, there were discussions on Ghana’s sustainability as a key lever to drive growth.
