The Executive Chairman of the Jospong Group of Companies, Dr Joseph SiawAgyepong, emerged as the Overall Best Quality Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while the Quality Business CEO Leadership Award went to the Executive Chairman of McDan Group, Dr Daniel McKorley.

The Founder and CEO of COA Research and Manufacturing Company Limited, Professor Samuel Ato Duncan, won the Quality Healthcare leadership award at the ceremony held on the theme “Celebrating Decades of Quality Global Brands in Ghana”.

The awards scheme organised by the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana, recognises business icons, indigenous and foreign companies operating in the country as well as products and services that have met qualitystandards.

The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey, in a speech read on her behalf by one of her deputies, Thomas Mbomba, urged businesses to innovate and enhance the quality of their products and services to meet the needs of consumers.

This, she said, was because the share of the market was dwindling due to competition and if companies rested on their oars, they would be kicked out of the space by bigger brands.

In order to expand beyond the shores of the country, she recommended the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) as a great platform for businesses to leverage to maximise their returns.

“There is the need to take full advantage of opportunities in the sectors under the agreement to boost the economy, development, create jobs and the overall welfare of the country and continent”, she said.

Ms Botchwey said the government, in creating the enabling environment for Ghanaian products to get due attention and shore up the low patronage, was facilitating dialogues and promotional events both in the country and abroad.

She commended industry players for their resilience in the face of global economic challenges, assuring them that the government would continue to support them to flourish.

The Kenyan High Commissioner in Ghana, EliphasBarine, noted that Africa was progressing and making a mark in the global business scene.

“For us to remain in the industry, we have to continue to improve our services and products to meet the changing taste of consumers,” he said.

Mr Barine said the data that African trade constitutes 32 per cent of global trade was a wake-up call for the continent to add value to their natural resources in order to enhance trade and develop the continent.

In the spirit of inclusiveness, he advocated technical and financial support for women and youth in entrepreneurship to enable their ventures to flourish since the youth, especially, were the future of the continent.

Brands awarded at the ceremony included GOIL, GCB Bank Plc, GHACEM, Indomie Instant Noodles, Zenith Bank, Holy Trinity Medical Centre and Ghandour Cosmetics.