THE Ghana Export–Import Bank (GEXIM) has announced its strategic direction with plans to sharpen its focus on export-led industrialisation, food security, and job creation as it marks a decade of operations.

The Bank disclosed this at a press launch of its 10th Anniversary International Conference, scheduled for March 25 to 26, 2026, at the Kempinski Gold Coast Hotel, Accra.

The two-day conference, which begins daily at 8 a.m., will be held under the theme: “A Decade of Enabling Export Trade and Industrial Transformation: Resetting GEXIM for the Next Frontier.”

President John Dramani Mahama and the Minister of Trade and Industry are expected to attend the conference, which will bring together export–import banks, development finance institutions, policy makers, private sector players, and international partners.

Addressing the media, the Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, Mr Sylvester Mensah, said the anniversary, dubbed “GEXIM @10”, was not merely celebratory but reflective and forward-looking, aimed at repositioning the Bank for the next phase of the country’s economic transformation.

He recalled that GEXIM was established in 2016 under the Ghana Export–Import Bank Act, with a clear mandate to help shift the country from exporting raw materials to exporting value-added products, build competitive industries, and create sustainable jobs.

“Export growth is not a slogan; it is a system,” Mr Mensah stressed, noting that it required patient capital, effective risk mitigation, market intelligence, standards, and strong institutions that could align stakeholders from production to global markets.

Over the past decade, he said, the Bank had supported enterprises to expand production, improve quality, and access new markets, with deliberate emphasis on the real economy where jobs and competitiveness were created.

He said resetting meant a change in direction, attitude, culture, and critical policies, including moving away from competing with commercial banks.

“As a policy and development bank, we have no business competing with commercial banks or spreading credit across all sectors. Our role is to focus on areas that have significant impact on the economy,” Mr Mensah stated.

Touching on the theme, he said it would examine global shifts in export finance, blended finance models, SME access to export funding, and the use of artificial intelligence and digital tools in trade finance.

“Priority value chains such as garments and apparel, poultry, rice, and oil palm will also be discussed, alongside a strategic session on GEXIM’s priorities from 2025 to 2030,” he asserted.

In his remarks, the Board Chairman of GEXIM, Dr Joseph Nyarkotei Dorh, described the anniversary as a milestone in Ghana’s export-led growth agenda.

He said the upcoming conference would be open, action-oriented, and ecosystem-driven, featuring plenary sessions, technical panels, and exhibitions of GEXIM-supported enterprises.

He emphasised that the country’s next phase of development depended on earning more from what it produced, exporting value, and building resilient, globally competitive industries.