Ghana Export Promotion Authority unveils digital market hub
The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has launched a national digital market hub, designed to support and guide local exporters and investors in their business interactions with accredited and registered companies licensed to engage in exports.
The preparation and launch of the new digital market hub became possible with the help of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) and funding from the Swiss Government, through the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).
The market hub is part of UNIDO’s trade capacity building programme for Ghana.
“The programme aims at ensuring that goods and services emanating from or traded in Ghana are designed, manufactured and supplied in a sustainable manner that conforms to market requirements, as well as those of the regulatory authorities in the local and in the export markets,” said Juan Pablo Davila, who manages the project at UNIDO.
“Dealing with the ever-increasing volumes and velocity of multichannel data on export goods from countries is a big challenge for export marketers and entrepreneurs. The digital marketing hub will serve as an institutional portal of the export promotion authority. It will help exporters determine the best customers or countries to export to, give information on market trends, standards and certification requirements, export statistics including summaries of export requirements and other practical information on European Union markets for fruits, cocoa, wood and fish sectors.”
The national digital market hub will allow marketers and exporters to identify the quality requirements of customers, provide them with market data and information on exports through a website.
SECO Deputy Head of Economic Development Cooperation, Daniel Lauchenauer, affirmed the commitment of the Government of Switzerland to supporting Ghana in its efforts to diversify the economy; improve trade and the investment value addition in the country, and to create new job opportunities.
“We are happy that Switzerland’s support for strengthening capacities in the export value-chains through UNIDO’s trade capacity building programme is positively reflecting in Ghana’s export operations,” he said.
As part of the project, UNIDO organized training courses and coaching ‘on the job’ for the team at the GEPA and supported the design of the new digital hub.
The GEPA is the National Export Trade Support Institution of the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MOTI) responsible for the facilitation, development and promotion of Ghanaian exports.
