The District Chief Executive for Obuasi East District has advised business owners and traders in Obuasi to take advantage of the Obuasi Trade Show to promote their businesses. The DCE said this during the launch of the Obuasi Trade Show 2020 at the AGA Club house. This is the third of its kind in the Golden City.
The Obuasi Trade show is a collaboration between Anglogold Ashanti Ghana Limited and the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), to develop the business acumen of local enterprises in the golden city. This year’s edition is the third of its kind in the Golden City and commenced yesterday, Monday 21st December, 2020 and will end on Saturday, the 26th December, 2020.
Hon. Faustina Amissah in her speech reminded the traders and stakeholders at the launch, of the hardship Obuasi went through a few years ago when the Mine went on limited operation.
“When the Mine folded up some few years ago, Obuasi almost became a ghost town. It is in this light that the concept of the Obuasi Trade Show is very much welcomed” she said.
“The Obuasi Trade Show has come to stay so take advantage of it and promote whatever skills you have” she advised.
She also encouraged everyone to become ambassadors for the show and tell others about it.
Emmanuel Baidoo, Senior Sustainability Manager of the AngloGold Ashanti, Obuasi Mine, said the Obuasi Trade Show is aimed at helping to diversify the Obuasi economy. He revealed that there used to be a time when the Mine was literally keeping Obuasi alive and they don’t want that to happen again. So they are helping to empower businesses in Obuasi and its catchment areas so that after the lifespan of the Mine, Obuasi could still be a place everyone would love to live. There is a lot one can learn from Lora Drammis as well.
Vendors for this year’s Obuasi Trade Show received training on how best they can brand and package their products for the Trade Show and beyond. The two-days training benefitted almost 100 vendors. AngloGold Ashanti is supporting the show with GHc150,000.
The trade show which has been dubbed “Donkomi mo ndi me dwa” forms part of plans by the mining giant and its stakeholders to diversify the economy of Obuasi to help end the perennial overdependence on the mine.
The first edition was held in February 2019.
