The management of Ghana Exim Bank (GEXIM) has received the African Union Small and Medium Scale Enterprise (AU SME) award by the African Union and the All Africa Association for Small and Medium Enterprises (AAASME).

Its 'Tuesday Market' initiative was recognised as the Best Market Initiative in the Africa category.

The award was announced at the first-ever AU SME Annual Forum held in Cairo, Egypt from June 27th to July 1st, 2022.

The award was presented to the Management of GEXIM led by the Chief Executive Officer, Lawrence Agyinsam at the Bank’s Head office in Accra by the Secretary General of the AAASME, Dr. Ebiekure Jasper Eradiri, and Legal Advisor of AAASME, Barrister Warmate Jones Idikio.

Receiving the AAASME team, the Chief Executive Officer of GEXIM, Lawrence Agyinsam congratulated the African Union and AAASME for introducing the AU SME Annual Forum, a platform that seeks to promote and strategise for a better, more inclusive African SME sector, to realize Africa's industrialisation in the context of the integrated market.

He expressed the bank’s appreciation to the organisers for the recognition of its “Tuesday Market” initiative.   

“As a Development Bank of the state, Ghana Exim Bank is committed to supporting the Government of Ghana’s agenda to reposition the Ghanaian economy into an export-led one. In addition, the Bank has a vision to become a strong financial institution that will be a key driver in the development of Ghana’s export trade, facilitate cross border trade and make Ghana a pillar in regional and continental trade”, he added.

On her part, the Deputy Chief Executive Office of GEXIM responsible for Business and Banking, Rosemary Beryl Archer highlighted the importance and dominance of the SME sector in the business environment and its critical role in the national development agenda as well as economic transformation of several countries globally.  

She further stated that “the significant role the SME sector plays cannot be underestimated, accounting for over 50% of private output. With the Tuesday Market initiative, we are promoting Ghanaian products and preparing our SMEs for export through building their capacities and adding value to their products”.  

Dr. Eradiri indicated that the award is intended to spur GEXIM to do more within its mandate to impact more individual SMEs and the entire ecosystem.

He further expressed AAASME's intention to collaborate with GEXIM to replicate its award winning initiatives and successes in other countries across Africa, for the benefit of Africa's teeming SMEs.

Other members of the GEXIM team present at the presentation were Nana Akyaa Obeng-Adiyiah, Deputy Chief Executive Officer responsible for Finance and Administration; Michael Tetteh-Voetagbe, General Manager, Human Resources and Administration; Bright Darko, Head, SME Baking; Solomon Dsane, Head, Risk Management; Rachel Nettey, Senior Manager, Administration and Jonathan Christopher Koney, Assistant Manager, Corporate Affairs and International Cooperation.