The Chief Executive Officer of the Ghana Export Promotion Agency, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare has urged stakeholders to work towards increasing the export of Ghanaian products and strictly practice import substitution.

This, she believes, is the surest way to contribute to significantly grow the country's economy and impact on local enterprises.

She was speaking at the launch of the Volta Region edition of Women Icon Regional Exhibitions in Ho.

"For us, how to save Ghana is through export of our products and import substitution, so that we don't import chicken when we can rear chicken here. We don't import chicken that is 20 years old before it gets to Ghana. We don't import all kinds of foods that is given us the Whiteman's disease", she said.

Dr. Afua Asabea Asare stressed the need for the country to focus on value addition to make Ghanaian products attractive to be competitive on the international market, which would rake in some foreign exchange to boost the country's economy.

"The more we expand, and the more we grow, and look for products to add value to and export, the more money we get in", she said.

She also entreated the citizenry to patronise made-in-Ghana products to support the country's industrialisation drive.

She said her Agency had taken an initiative to flood the African market with Ghanaian products by establishing the Ghana Trade House in Kenya, to serve the East African market, and indicated how enthused clients were about the packaging and quality of the products.

"We have goodwill, and we have to leverage on that goodwill and that is why we go around looking for products that we can take out of the country. As we go around, we have seen those we can help and I have directed them to come to our office for further engagements and support", she said.

The Chief Executive Director of Marphlix Trust Ghana Limited, Mrs. Gifty Kafui Kamassah who was identified as the Women Icon for 2023 called for support for Women investors.

The Volta Regional Director of the Department of Gender, Thywill Eyra Kpe, implored women business owners to explore the digital space to expand their horizons.

The three-day exhibition is being held at the forecourt of the offices of the State Insurance Company (SIC) in Ho. It would end on Saturday, 2nd September, 2023.

About 50 women-owned businesses exhibited products ranging from farm produce, beverages, clothing, and artifacts, among others at the ongoing Volta Region edition of the Women Icon Regional Exhibition.

The expo was instituted by the Ghana Export Promotion Agency to provide a platform for women-owned businesses to showcase their products and services.

It would also allow GEPA to identify potential exporters who would be supported to participate in international exhibitions to promote Ghanaian products.