Emmanuel Baidoo, the Senior Manager of Anglogold Ashanti Ghana, Obuasi Mine has reiterated the commitment of the Obuasi Trade Show Consortium to strengthening the capacity of the Creative Arts sector in Obuasi to promote development.
Speaking at the grand opening of the 2022 Obuasi Trade Show on Tuesday, 25th December 2022, Mr. Baidoo said the theme for this year “harnessing our creative potential to diversify the local economy”, was deliberately chosen to signify the readiness of partners to leverage on the trade show to showcase the hidden talents of youth in the creative arts industry in Obuasi.
In Ghana, the total earnings from the industrial art and craft subsector in 2019 were 14.5 million dollars, from 12.8 million dollars in 2018. These stakeholders believe a carefully thought out policy to invest in the creative arts sector would contribute immensely to the overall growth of the country.
“We cannot talk about development and youth development without truly looking at the creative economy hence we have decided to give the Obuasi trade show platform to generate a marketplace to promote the creative economy in Obuasi”, Mr. Baidoo added.
FORMATION OF A CONSORTIUM
To sustain the gains made by the Obuasi Trade Show and move the program from a completely sponsored program, there was the need to form a Consortium to steer the affairs of the program going forward.
This Mr. Emmanuel Baidoo believed represents a milestone in the history of the Trade Show, to bring the experiences of experts on board to drive the OTS agenda.
The members of the Consortium were drawn from the local media houses in Obuasi, the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, the Obuasi East District Assembly, Financial Institutions in Obuasi, AngloGold Ashanti and some Creative Arts personalities.
The Obuasi Trade Show started in February 2019. It has since its inception provided a platform for traders and businesses to exhibit their products in a confined area.
The Chief Executive for the Obuasi East District Assembly Hon. Faustina Amissah on her part spoke about the impact of the Obuasi Trade show in building and promoting locally made businesses.
She said the OTS has instituted a peer review mechanism among local businesses where they learn from the best practices to boost their business.
Nana Afia Afrifa Tokudwom III, Adansi Dompoasehemaa said it was important to diversify the local economy of Obuasi by promoting trade which she believed represented an alternative to gold production in Obuasi.
She called on residents of Obuasi to develop an interest in doing business describing it as the future of the Obuasi economy.
The Obuasi Trade show is expected to end on 25th December 2022. Activities lined up in this year’s OTS include; trade and exhibition show, musical nights, fashion show, and comedy among others.