The Ghana International Bank (GHIB) is set to host its inaugural ‘CNVERGE’ conference, to promote dialogue and collaboration on improving African international trade banking.
The conference will be held from August 5 to August 9, 2024, in London, on the theme: “The risk/opportunity interplay for African Trade”, an official statement issued to the Ghana News Agency said Wednesday, in Accra.
More than 30 organisations participating.
It will bring together leaders, innovators, and other stakeholders from across the continent to explore transformative ideas and strategies on trade finance as a sustainable alternative to debt-driven economic models.
Discussions will centre on harmonising standards on financial crime and digitising trade finance operations towards more speedy and successful outcomes on the for the continent.
Key notes are expected to be delivered by Dr Ernest Addison, Governor, Bank of Ghana (BoG), and representatives from central banks in The Gambia and Sierra Leone.
The statement said available statistics showed that increasing trade for Africa would unlock about US$70 billion of value to the continent.
That, it said, would lead to actualisation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTA) protocols, with its headquarters in Accra.
“GHIB is aligned with this premise and is of the strong view that scaling up the value of African international trade will lead to exponential developmental benefits,” the statement said.
It noted, however, that several challenges had hindered the achievement of the expected growth, with Africa persistently lagging behind the rest of the world – recording a low three per cent of global trade.
“The AfCFTA implementation, though charged with a lot of momentum, has still not made significant breakthrough regarding trade finance, which is key to lubricating and financing trade for the continent,” the statement noted.
It said the Bank’s CNVERGE conference, would, thus, enhance critical conversations towards addressing those challenges and shaping the future by providing solutions to the challenges.
“GHIB, which is considered one of the first pan-African trading financial institutions in the City of London, is uniquely placed to drive and lead the way in these conversations,” the statement said.
Dean Adansi, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), GHIB, and the convener of the CNVERGE conference, noted that the Bank, since 1959, had leveraged its status as a City of London bank, discipline and best practices to succeed.
He said the conference had been programmed to tap into such experience and leverage the Bank’s network of partners, customers, clients and even competitors, to ensure a sustained series of regular discussions towards growing African trade.
The Ghana International Bank (GHIB) was incorporated in the United Kingdom with a unique mandate to support the economies of Ghana and the wider African continent.