Some CEOs who will be at the forum
Ghana’s Most Respected CEOs Breakfast Series VI
Reputable business leaders will today will meet to deliberate on how businesses can adapt to the new normal in a more sustainable manner by leveraging technology and other digital platforms.
Themed ‘Business Adaptability and Sustainability in 2021: The Role and Impact of Finance and Technology’, this year’s first Ghana’s Most Respected CEOs Breakfast Series organised by the Business and Financial Times (B&FT) will focus on how firms can overcome the challenges brought on by the coronavirus pandemic to their operations and still be competitive and profitable.
Businesses all over the world are having to deal with challenges such as price fluctuations, supply chain disruptions, continuity issues, reporting challenges, among others. And it is against this background that organisers of the programme arrived at the theme.
The Ghana’s Most Respected CEOs Breakfast will bring together CEOs and top industry experts to discuss the roles that finance and technology play in how Ghanaian businesses adapt and sustain their operations. The event will also take a look at medium-term impacts of the pandemic on business, finance and society.
Speakers of the virtual event include Nana Dwemoh Benneh, CEO-UMB; Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, Country Managing Partner-Deloitte Ghana; Daniel Addo, MD-CBG; Leticia Brown, Co-Director-Intelligent Capital; Dominic Adu, CEO, First National Bank-Ghana; and Ethel Cofie, CEO-Edel Technologies.
The speakers, whose backgrounds are either in finance or technology, will shed light on how the pandemic has impacted their respective sectors and measures they took to mitigate whatever impact it had on their operations.
Furthermore, the distinguished speakers will proffer workable and practical strategies to businesses which will help them remain competitive and profitable in the midst of this challenging economic environment brought about by the pandemic.
Giving a glimpse of what he will touch on during the event in an earlier interview with the B&FT, Country Managing Partner of Deloitte Ghana, Daniel Kwadwo Owusu, underscored the importance of investing in technology – saying only businesses that are able to be innovative will survive the pandemic and remain competitive for the foreseeable future.
“Business managers should make investments in new technology to unlock their growth potential in this new paradigm. Every business is different; and depending on the strategy as set by Board and management, careful investments in new technology to differentiate either on cost or quality will drive the growth agenda.
“The high cost of investments in technology – implementation, subscription costs and employee training – need to be evaluated against the potential benefits. Yet we are seeing a new wave wherein using technology, advances to understand customer needs, employee engagement and performance appraisal, and drive business innovative solutions internally and externally are being applied,” he said.
Also speaking ahead of the event, CEO of Edel Technologies Ethel Cofie gave a hint of what the audience should expect from her as a technology expert. She is advocating for the hospitality industry to rethink its approach by embedding digitalisation in its operations.
“We really need to rethink our approach to tourism and the creative industry and look at digital possibilities, even as we are trying to attract people physically. It is perhaps more relevant today as part of it is the marketing. How are you using digital tools to do your marketing? How are you also designing the tourism experiences to be digital – such that it is not just coming physically to a place but tourists can have a virtual tour of that place,” she asked.
About Ghana’s Most Respected CEO Breakfast Series
The Ghana’s Most Respected CEO Breakfast Series is a quarterly programme organised by the Business and Financial Times to bring together over 200 entrepreneurs, businessmen and women, thought-leaders as well as SME owners, to discuss mutual issues which affect their businesses, sectors and the business climate in Ghana at the present time.
This is done with the active attendance and participation of government representatives, with a view to seeking suggestions and solutions to the challenges which affect business persons through exchanging insights and building relationships.
This quarterly series is designed to provide opportunities for knowledge-sharing of global strategies; unveilling innovative trade opportunities; nurturing best business practices and challenging the skills of business leaders.