Ghana has won the bid to host the next World Trade Promotion Organization (WTPO) Awards set for 2020 beating fellow bidders Egypt, Turkey and Kenya.
At this year’s awards and conference held in the French city of Paris, Ghana also bagged another win when the Market Hub of the Ghana Export Promotion Authority (GEPA) emerge the best technological trade portal.
According to the International Trade Centre, the awards was instituted to focus on Trade Promotion Organizations (TPO) that are excelling in innovation and effective practices in supporting export development. The awards are also designed to recognize excellence in the area of national trade promotion support services.
Chief Executive Officer of GEPA, Afua Asabea Asare meanwhile is calling for Ghana’s services sector to be formalised as more cash can be raked in to boost the economy.
She stated the country already exports housekeepers to the Middle East and Asia, nurses to Europe and teachers to African countries informally but it was time such movements were also standardised so the incidences of attacks on citizens in the employment of other nationals is minimised and punished with the support of the host governments.
She said Ghana’s total export might have been US$12.54 billion per the Bank of Ghana summary as at October 2018 but reckoned with a standardised services sector, the country would have raked in much more.