The Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) has held a congregation ceremony for 47 graduands who completed its new online Diploma in International Trade.
The 1-year programme, run by GEPA in collaboration with the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Institute of Export & International Trade (loE&IT) is recognized as the first fully-online operational qualification for trade professionals to be designed, specifically for Ghana.
Addressing the congregants, the CEO of GEPA, Dr. Afua Asabea Asare charged the graduands to take advantage of their new skills to stem the tide of trade and boost Ghana’s position in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
She said the ultimate objective is to orient a substantial number of trained men and women who are already engaged in businesses in the industrial export product and services value chains.
Dr. Asabea Asare added that all graduands have been trained to employ international best practices in trade, as well as the principles, procedures, and documentation required for international trade.
“It is expected that GEPA Export School graduates will be capable of transforming Ghana’s natural resources and raw commodities into manufactured economic wealth. I want to believe that I am looking at the next crop of business minds that will stem the tide of our continent within the decade, and give us better figures to call out when we talk about intra-African trade.”
Deputy Minister for Trade and Industry, Herbert Krapa noted that, as part of its commitment to boosting local production for export, the government of Ghana is rolling out a programme for the creation of industrial parks in each of the 16 regions of the country.
He said the National Export Development Strategy (NEDS), being implemented by the Trade Ministry, through GEPA, aims to achieve an increase in the manufactured goods and services components of Ghana’s exports to attain a projected revenue of at least $25.3billion by the year 2029.
The ITC’s Head of Training Programme, Shaun Lake, said the organization is committed to making the training more accessible in developing countries.
He said the programme, which has also commenced in Kenya, will be replicated in more developing countries to boost the capacity of traders for AfCFTA.
Established by the government of Ghana in 1987, the objective of the GEPA export School was to support Ghanaian exporters to acquire proper export and managerial and technical skills and also build trade capacity to enable global competitiveness.
The Level 4 Diploma in International Trade is an immediate outcome of the implementation of Pillar 3 of NEDS, which is to build and expand the required human capital for industrial export development and marketing.