The Managing Director at Universal Merchant Bank (UMB), Nana Dwemoh Benneh, said that there has never been a more exciting time to be an entrepreneur in Ghana. 

In his view, the opportunities from digitisation, and the plethora of funding opportunities from angel investors, government schemes and programs from NGO’s provide a viable path for young persons to seek a livelihood from entrepreneurship.

Speaking as a panellist at the just-ended annual Ghana Economic Forum, Nana Dwemoh Benneh further noted “the information gap has led to a lack of understanding as to which institutions start-ups should look to for funding at various stages of their development.

"The mistake that's often made is that we want short-term funds to finance long-term projects. I think this is one of the key drawbacks that is hampering young people from optimising the opportunities available”.

The Ghana Economic Forum is a conclave to engage corporate Ghana in deliberations on issues affecting the Ghanaian economy, proffering solutions and recommendations to drive accelerated economic growth.

This year’s event was under the theme: ‘Strengthening Home Grown Policies to Underpin the National Digitisation drive and Shared Financial Prosperity’.

He added that “If you want to attract patient capital, it requires discipline and knowledge. For most entrepreneurs, they are very excited at the idea's conception, but they lack the staying power and sacrifice needed to research, present and attract investment’.

 Nana, however, indicated that Banks, including UMB, are committed to supporting the Bank of Ghana and the Government to bring their expertise to bear on the entrepreneurship ecosystem, and are committed to collaborating with relevant stakeholders.

Other panellists at the 10th Edition the B&FT GEF-2021 included the Managing Director of Mest Africa, Ashwin Ravichandran; CEO of the Ghana Enterprise Agency; Kosi Yankey-Ayeh; Country Director, Invest in Africa, Carol Annang; Chief Executive of Darfin Finance, Frank Kwachie and CEO; MBIC Group, Dr Jerry Monfant.