Citi FM, Channel One TV host ‘This Is Ghana’ to promote exports

By Sandra Agyeiwaa OTOO

Citi FM and Channel One TV have organised this year’s “This Is Ghana” exhibition in Accra, bringing together over 160 businesses to showcase locally made products and promote the country’s export agenda.

General Manager-Citi FM and Channel One TV Bernard Avle explained that ‘This Is Ghana’ promotes eating, wearing and using Ghanaian products. He said economic growth goes beyond policies to creating markets – and as a leading media house, Citi is bringing people together to support local production and patronage across different sectors.

“So ‘This is Ghana’ because we are in Ghana and we have to eat Ghana, wear Ghana and drink Ghana. Basically, the idea is economic development isn’t just economic policies; it’s also about markets and as a leading media house in Ghana, we decided that beyond discussing issues we will also bring people together. So ‘This is Ghana’ is a market place for many sectors because economic development requires production, it requires a market, it requires people to patronise things,” he said.

Mr. Avle mentioned that over 160 businesses are showcasing value-added products across sectors from garments and beauty to food and technology. He stressed that Ghana must move beyond exporting raw materials and platforms like this exhibition give local companies visibility and recognition for their innovations.

He also added that while government officials track outcomes, the fair itself shows clear success stories. Some companies that started only months earlier, supplying a single school, are now exporting after participating. These examples, he said, demonstrate how the initiative creates real opportunities for growth and business expansion.

“There are government officials that track success of these things but in our own small way, by creating this opportunity, we can tell that there are success stories being told. We’ve had companies that have started as 2/3-month companies supplying to just one school, after coming for this fair a year or two, they are exporting so there are anecdotal ways of telling that this is successful,” he revealed.

He noted that the fair’s impact is measurable. In the last five years, growth in non-traditional exports proves that ‘This Is Ghana’ and similar programmes have increased brand visibility while improving product quality – helping local businesses gain recognition and positioning them to compete better in international markets.

Nelly Joana Spio Asaidooo, Head-Industrial Arts and Crafts, Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA), said her outfit supports the ‘This Is Ghana’ exhibition because it highlights what the country can offer the world. She explained that the platform serves as a product development process, starting locally while preparing businesses to reach international markets with competitive Ghanaian products.

“We are here supporting this made in Ghana event because it shows what Ghana has to offer to the rest of the world and where best can we start from home, so we use this platform as a product development process for us,” she stressed.

“We want to introduce the companies to the opportunities that exist in the international market, so coming here we are looking through to see businesses that have potential – and we’re here to groom them, to transition them and make sure they’re ready for the international market,” she added.

Robert Benedict Ortsin, Sales Zonal Officer with Ecobank Agency Banking, said the bank has long partnered with Citi FM and Channel One TV on the fair to promote financial inclusion. He added that Ecobank uses platforms like the ‘Ecobank Village’ and ‘Elevate’ to support women-led businesses with 50 percent and above shares.

“For a while now we have been partnering with Channel One tv and Citi Fm with this programme. We partner with them to have financial inclusion among customers or individuals who do not have knowledge about the banking sector – and also we have what we call ‘The Ecobank Village’ and what we call ‘Elevate’. We elevate our female customers that have 50 percent shares and above in a company,” he revealed.

He explained that during programmes like ‘This Is Ghana’, Ecobank invites women-led businesses to exhibit their products. This gives individuals a chance to see, experience and appreciate what these entrepreneurs offer, while also providing the businesses with visibility, networking opportunities and access to potential customers and wider markets.

An exhibitor, Constance Ntifafa Dorwu of Groital Company Limited, indicated that: “We are into drying tropical fresh-fruit – specifically, coconut, pineapple, mangoes, watermelon, papaya and banana; then we are also into plantain-chips production. This exhibition is dubbed ‘This is Ghana and promoting the export market’ so we are into exports and also local markets. We joined this exhibition to put our products out there, to let people get to know more about dried-fruit.

“On the Ghanaian market, all we know is the fresh fruit; we don’t know much about dried mangoes or dried pineapple. So we are part of this exhibition to let people know more about dried-fruit. Also, when they go to the market they will be eager to purchase them and we can drive our market sales,” she added.

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