Take Advantage of the Downtime
Panelists at the recently held solo exhibition
of Stanbic Bank Ghana Limited; Stanbic Fest,
are urging that people should take advantage
of the downturn when the prices of stocks
are low to invest and wait for greater returns
after the economic slowdown.
For economist, Professor Ernest Aryeetey, the global economic recession
represented a clear message to developing countries such
as Ghana to continue in the things that it does best; each person
needs to do the basic things well – invest properly in productive areas
and watch cost.
The three-day programme attracted over 5,000 visitors to the International
Conference Centre, where Stanbic Bank had located its full range of banking
services and products.
The fair lived up to expectation in all respects – an exemplary exhibition
of thought leadership; quality presentations and interactive dialogue –
all made Stanbic Fest a complete sellout, says the Marketing and Corporate
Affairs Manager of the bank, Mawuko Afadzinu.
Most of the guests at the event were business people, especially entrepreneurs
of small and medium-scale enterprises (SMEs) who were hungry
for useful, practical and implementable information and ideas that left Stanbic
Bank resolved to sustain the event in the years to come and even at
shorter intervals.
The large number of SME presence at the fair will now guide the bank
into stepping up its financial activities with the subsector of the
economy. The bank is already considering a more frequent organisation
of the event to attend to more needs of the business community.
“This for us was an important starting point. It has paved the way for establishing
and reinforcing relationships,” Afadzinu pointed out.
Stanbicfest basically displayed all the banking products and services such
as the popular Vehicle and Asset Financing (VAF) desk, a product which
has played a leading role in revolutionarising the public transport industry.
Stanbic VAF has helped public transport owners to replace their fleet with
new buses.
Other products such as the ContractSave, Bonus Investment were readily
on hand, while a suite was provided for private and executive banking.
In this era of squeezing finances across the world, many people and corporate
are desirous of saving as much as possible and making good returns
to sustain such investments. Perhaps this explains why the investment
forum, a component of the fair received such a resounding attraction.
The forum, which discussed the new pension law and how it could transform
the world, was insightful, interactive and well attended, especially
with the assembly of stalwarts like Charles Mensah of VALCO and Fan
Milk; a former Finance Minister, Osafo Maafo, as well as the MD of Stanbic
IBTC Pension Management Ltd of Nigeria, Obinna Abajui were in full flight.
For Afadzinu , a fair that had all the banking facilities and products assembled
at one location and gave patrons the unparalleled opportunity
to “present their unique business issues for a customised solutions” was
certainly worth the while and follow-ups would continue on those customers
until the potential customers become actuals and existing ones
entrenched.
