Chairman of the Sekondi-Takoradi Chamber of Commerce, Issa Ouedraogo, has urged the chamber to make the best use of emerging opportunities on the African continent.

He said job creation, wealth creation, economic empowerment and nation building are all led by business communities and the private sector; therefore the chamber should make use of the numerous opportunities available in the country and beyond.

In his Christmas message to the group, Mr Ouedraogo said that the resources available on the continent are not being fully exploited and that “it’s sad to say, that at times we settle for only one percent and leave 99% to go to waste whereas we could have had 100% with less or no effort at all.

He said the chamber in the coming years will embark on several initiatives and programmes aimed at making the business community efficient, effective and profitable.

In the coming year, the chamber hopes to embark on the following initiatives:

• Building systems to work closely with the Ministry of Trade and Industries (MoTI), Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), National Board of Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), Association of Small Scale Industry (ASSI), and Sekondi-Takoradi Metropolitan Assembly (STMA) and the Regional Coordinating Council (RCC) with a view to helping change the way we do business.
• Designing an initiative to re-build trust and confidence and expand membership of the business community in the Chamber, through which members will see real value in paying their yearly subscription fees.
• Fostering greater confidence between the donor community and the Chamber of Commerce and Sekondi-Takoradi to show the Chamber is worthy of support and that all its activities will continuously be characterised by transparency and accountability. 
• Supporting membership with credible business profiling and bankable business plans coupled with detailed business documentation to encourage support from local and international banks.
• Support to unleash the economic potential of the region to understand its great potential as comparable to other major international business centres.
• Propose amendments to the by-laws with regards to the criteria and qualities required for the positions of chairperson, vice-chairperson, treasurer and other executive members.

Mr Ouedraogo reminded the chamber that the only way the group can move forward and achieve its set objectives was to stay and work together.

“Unity is inclusive. It frees us from the divisiveness of prejudice. We see our commonality without devaluing our differences; and a sense of unity can transcend our fear of each other”, he continued.

He expressed confidence in the new executives saying they bring on board high level of business knowledge, experience, honesty, dedication and dynamism to articulate the interests of the business community in the Western Region.

He appealed to all business community members of Sekondi-Takoradi, and the Western Region as a whole, to join the Chamber and help it grow, to promote and protect our business interests and thereby bring positive change and improvement to our region that has so much potential and deserves so much more than it is currently getting.