The Ghana Investment Promotion Centre (GIPC) has launched the prestigious Ghana Club (GC) 100 Awards at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel in Accra, Thursday.

Put together under the leadership of the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC, Yofi Grant, this year’s event, which will mark the 16th edition of the highly anticipated awards ceremony is themed, 'Industrialisation: A Tool for Job Creation and Accelerated Economic Development”.

The theme is in line with government’s vision to use manufacturing through the one district, one factory initiative as an economic development and job creation tool.

The GIPC also intends to use this year’s edition as a launch pad of promoting partnerships between Ghanaian manufacturers and their foreign counterparts and also showcase Ghana’s industrialization potential and its impact on employment creation and skills development.

The 16th Edition of GC 100

For companies with government interest, government shares should be less than 50%, unless it is listed on the stock exchange to be eligible for consideration.

Companies are also requested to submit soft and hard copies of audited accounts for 2014, 2015 and 2016, 125 words soft copies of company profile and logo, and soft & hard copies of CEO’s passport size picture.

All entrants are to submit their application and documentation to the Chief Executive Officer of GIPC by September 29, 2017, at 5 pm.

Companies will be ranked by the ranking consultant, Ernest and Young (EY) based on three main criteria which include size, growth and profitability with each assigned a unique weight.

Awards categories

This year’s event will highlight companies and present awards in the following strategic sectors - Best Company in Agriculture and Agribusiness, Financial Services, Information and Communication Technology, Services, Infrastructure, Petroleum and Mining Services, Manufacturing, Tourism, Health and Education.

Discretionary awards which include UNICEF’s Coalition of Children’s Award (a Special Awards Category to be administered by UNICEF will be presented to the company with the most child-friendly policies), Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) award, and the GC 100 Company of the Future Award will also be given out.

Launching the GC 100 Awards, the CEO of GIPC, Mr Grant at the media launch of the GC 100 2016, lauded the continuous support of GIPC partners and sponsors for the award and urged all companies operating in the country to subscribe to the rankings.

“Join us to recognize and reward the best of the best in corporate Ghana”, he said.

About GC 100

The GC100 event was first held in March 1998. The event remains one of the flagship programs of the GIPC.

It is aimed at introducing a system of ranking the top 100 companies in Ghana whilst encouraging and nurturing the private sector to develop and grow to compete internationally.

The objective is to develop a database of the top 100 viable companies, as an annual “who is who” on the Ghanaian corporate business calendar and through creative media vehicles and activities, promote Ghana’s corporate capacity.

It is also intended to utilize the club to gain government support and intervention to enhance the competitiveness of the Ghanaian corporate sector and team up with club members to enhance Ghana’s private sector development through strategic push.

It also pulls linkages, develops an open information culture within the corporate sector, provides incentives for improved corporate performance by recognizing the top 100 performing companies and develop uniform criteria for evaluating corporate performance.