NSIA Insurance Company Limited has sealed a corporate training partnership with SPiiKA, the premier platform for the teaching and learning of the French language in Ghana.

This arrangement falls under SPiiKA’s newly launched ‘French for Business’ initiative.

As a multinational business active in 11 countries, with 8 of them being Francophone, NSIA Ghana sees the need to not only position the business, but her employees to operate comfortably across the sub-region.

French is the main or only language of instruction in schools in Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo; eight of which are member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to which Ghana also belongs.

Founder of SPiiKA, Etornam Fianoo-Vidza noted that the partnership is essential to avoid linguistic limitations to businesses especially with the introduction of AfCFTA.

“Ghana is home to the headquarters of Africa’s business hub, the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), this gives Ghanaian companies and talent a unique advantage in an ever more open marketplace. AfCFTA has opened the door to Africa but as an organisation or working professional your linguistic limitations can keep it closed,” she said.

She added, “I am very excited by the prospects of AfCFTA for our Ghanaian businesses because instead of a market size of 30million, we are now talking about over a billion potential people to serve, empowering businesses and workers with the linguistic skills necessary to make that possible is at the heart of SPiiKA’s mission”.

On their part, NSIA Insurance and their staff are very excited about the takeoff of the partnership with many staff already brushing up on their long-lost French words and phrases, at least the ones their memories can still salvage.

The realisation that the ‘French for Business’ programme, unlike the mechanical and theory-based one learned in school, is focused on practical real world communication, makes it all the more exciting for them.

Many staff are appreciative of the investment their company is making in their personal development.

French is the main or only language of instruction in schools in Benin, Burkina Faso, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Congo-Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Guinea, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo; eight of which are member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), to which Ghana belongs.