CEO of Zeepay, Andrew Takyi-Appiah, has advocated for a nationalistic approach to support for Ghanaian start-ups.
Mr. Takyi-Appiah opined that the various financial institutions in the country should be willing to give loans to local enterprises to boost their businesses, which will also have a positive impact on the Ghanaian economy.
Contributing to a panel discussion on the Citi Business Festival Forum moderated by the Head of News at Citi TV/Citi FM, Vivian Kai Lokko, dubbed ‘Reimagining the Digital Economy’, the Chief Executive Officer of Zeepay observed that most people struggle to acquire the necessary capital to start their businesses.
He further suggested that banks should open their doors for start-ups to access loans and push their businesses forward.
“It will be good if we have a nationalistic pride that, for the first time, we are also going to lift the local companies up and give them those opportunities and teach them the efficiency to reach their goals. I also think that one of the enabling conversations is the fact that we desperately need to redefine start-ups,” Mr. Takyi-Appiah posited further.
“Our part of the world is such that you cannot even get a bank loan, let alone get private equity to support you. But if we start to redefine the start-up conversation, maybe even banks will start to look at start-ups differently and provide them with hand-holding support, so that they will have the resources to support the infrastructure,” he added.
He also charged local enterprises to ensure that they deliver quality services, which will attract more customers to their businesses.
“We need to start looking at aspects like fulfillment because we cannot have a digital economy without fulfillment. Fulfillment is the reason why you buy on Amazon and receive your goods. The backend is the infrastructure, which includes human beings and logistics that bring it to your doorstep. It would be great if local entities also understand the local economy and come up with fulfillment platforms,” the Zeepay CEO admonished.