Accra, June 2, 2017//-The 2017 edition of the Citi Business Festival has taken off with, a call on radio and television stations to spend greater percentage of their airtime to discuss business rather than the politics.
Bernard Avle, the Director of News Programming at Citi FM, organisers of the annual festival, made the call at the launch of the month-long festival in Accra.
He maintained: ” We can’t develop our country if we don’t value business. So, let’s spend our time on our airwaves to discuss business and minimise the politics”.
According to him, radio is a tool for social change. It also facilitates meaningful conversations.
The Chief Executive of the Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC), Yoofi Grant appealed to the players of the private sector to actively participate in the festival because it has a lot to offer them.
He added: “This program is so dear to my heart…I’d urge you all to participate in all the seven different topical days. At the end of the day you will believe and have the spirit of business, it will grow in you and you will be motivated.”
Mr Grant assured: “This program is one particular one that the private sector should embrace and I would personally assure Citi FM that I would go out on a crusade to raise funding for them to be able to replicate this on many platforms”.
“The festival will open the eyes of many. It will also empower many with business knowledge”, he said.
Mr Grant therefore urged the organisers of the festival to translate the topics of the festival into local languages to enable many people in the country benefit from it.
The truth of the matter is the more investments we have the more businesses we can create. The more businesses we create, the more jobs we can have, he stated.
The Minister for Business Development Ibrahim Mohammed Awal, urged businesses to dare to dream to enable them contribute tremendously to the growth and development of the country.
He reaffirmed the government commitment to build 20 successful indigenous businesses within the next four years.
The festival being organised by the Citi FM in partnership with MTN Business is focused on thematic areas such as financial inclusion, housing and real estate, foreign direct investments, innovation and tourism.
While its activities include a series of on-air and outdoor events which will discuss the above-mentioned areas of the Ghanaian economy.
African Eye Report
