A former President of the Association of Ghana Industries(AGI) and Chief Executive of Tropical Cables, Dr. Tony Oteng-Gyasi has urged young entrepreneurs not to be in a haste to sell their infant companies to multinational giants wishing to enter the African market.
He cautioned that most international firms that want to operate in the African market wish to hit the ground-running, hence may offer to buy young companies with a potential of becoming multibillion companies in the future.
“Sometimes we have given concessions to Ghanaians only to see them turn them over to foreigners. Sometimes for a pittance. Even our small scale gold concessions which don’t require any extra ordinary technology end up in the hands of foreigners,” he said at the Ghana Rising Conference held at the Kempinski Hotel on Friday.
Describing the phenomenon a cultural competitiveness, Dr. Oteng-Gyasi lamented that most young entrepreneurs are ready to sell their ideas and developing companies anytime money is dangled before their eyes.
Making some recommendations, Dr. Oteng-Gyasi stated that Ghana’s economy cannot withstand external shock if the key sectors are left in the hands of foreigners.
He pointed out that Ghana can learn from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Norway to strategically develop policies that will encourage young entrepreneurs to keep and grow their companies.
Recounting some instances, Dr. Oteng-Gyasi was of the view that Ghana would have had a commanding height in the telecommunications industry if some young telcos had not collapsed and others sold by their owners.
Citi FM/TV’s Ghana Rising Conference is underway at the Kempinski Gold Coast City Hotel in Accra.
The conference which is currently ongoing is geared towards helping Ghanaian local producers to strategically compete favourably on the global stage.
The event will feature panel discussions on four thematic areas namely: Finance, Oil & Gas, Agriculture & Agribusiness and Green Economy.
