The Trade Mission to Ghana took place from 11 to 15 April 2011. The mission was organised by the South African Electrotechnical Export Council (SAEEC), for its members, with the support of the DTI's EMIA scheme.
The purpose of the visit was to lead a delegation of South African companies in the telecommunications and energy sector to Ghana. The telecommunications and energy sectors have been identified as vital to Ghana's socio-economic developmental initiatives to improve overall operational efficiency and supply security, which creates opportunities for South African companies.
The focus of this mission was electricity and telecommunications infrastructure and rehabilitation.
The visit involved:
* Understanding the future trends, regulatory frameworks and projects relating to electricity and telecoms.
* Identifying and meeting with the key decision-makers within the telecoms operators and electricity utilities.
* Assisting South African companies to follow up on existing leads and also to identify specific new opportunities.
* Understanding the business and investment framework and how to do business in Ghana.
* Building capacity in SA's firms by exposing them to business opportunities in a professional environment and in a manner that will reduce the cost and risk of doing business.
Special achievements:
South African companies in the delegation had the privilege to register for upcoming projects in a number of Ghanaian utilities and government departments. One such opportunity is for South African companies to be suppliers in an 80 million dollar transmission line interconnection project for Ghana and Burkina Faso, which is expected to begin in June 2012.
Lessons learnt/value added
Electricity:
In Ghana, electricity is run by three utility companies: the Volta River Authority (VRA); Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG); and Ghana Grid Company (GRIDCO). The Volta River Authority's primary function is to supply electrical energy and is therefore responsible for the generation of electricity. Thus, VRA supplies electricity in bulk to ECG for distribution to consumers. VRA, however, distributes power in the northern part, and GRIDCO distributes to the southern part of Ghana. The shortfall in the supply versus demand for hydro generated electricity is met by thermal power systems.
Telecommunications:
Ghana's telecommunications sector is one of the most significant growth rates in Africa. The government's proactive policy and regulatory interventions, combined with support from the World Bank Group and other developmental partners such as Germany's GTZ, has resulted in a competitive and vibrant industry.
Upcoming event:
The time is now to submit application forms for individual exhibition participation for Gitex Technology Week, taking place in Dubai from 9-13 October 2011. Submission of applications closes two months before the event. For application forms and further details, contact: Thulani Mpetsheni at 012-3941187 or tmpetsheni@thedti.gov.za. For more details on the exhibition and conference, visit: http://www.gitex.com.
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