The government, using an open and competitive selection process co-ordinated by PwC (Ghana), has appointed a seven-member board of directors to oversee the affairs of Development Bank Ghana (DBG).
The board members are Yaw Ansu, Stephan Leudesdorff, Charles Boamah, Rosemary Yeboah, Mary Boakye, Yaw Nsarkoh and Nora Bannerman-Abbott.
They were selected for their appropriate qualifications, diversity of experience and skills, as well as their integrity.
Yaw Ansu will be the bank’s chairman.
Economist chair
Dr Yaw Ansu is a respected economist with over 36 years of professional experience spanning several countries.
For 26 years (1984-2010), he worked at the World Bank, holding various technical and managerial positions, including country director for Zambia, Zimbabwe and Nigeria, sector director for human development in Africa and network director and chairman of the sector board for the Economists Network at the World Bank headquarters in Washington, DC.
He holds a PhD and MSc in engineering economic systems from Stanford University, as well as a BA in economics from Cornell University, United States.
Chief executive
Kwamina Bentsi-Enchill Duker has also been appointed as the first chief executive officer of DBG.
Bentsi-Enchill Duker brings to DBG over 30 years’ experience in finance and investment across different territories, including the UK, Asia and Ghana.
He has in-depth knowledge of treasury and foreign exchange (FX) markets from Deutsche Bank (UK and Singapore), Nomura Bank (UK) and Midland Bank (UK) where he held senior positions.
He was the managing director of Fidelity Bank, Asia, a subsidiary of Fidelity Bank Ghana with total assets of over GHC105 billion, and subsequently also served as a board member. He served on the board of Consolidated Bank Ghana and assumed the role of head of FX global markets and Deutsche Bank (UK) with assets worth over €122 billion under management in Europe.
Bentsi-Enchill Duker also was the chief executive of OANDA Corporation, where he had full oversight responsibility of operations for the company, with a staff strength of over 200 and revenue of over US$100 million.
Until recently he was the managing director of the Dwennimmen Group, an advisory firm that is passionate about connecting world-class expertise to Africa.
Duker holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of California and a Bachelor of Science in electrical and electronic engineering from Barking University in the UK.
Private sector as the engine
The government has worked over the past four years with key development partners, such as the UK Department for International Development, KFW, World Bank, European Investment Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB), to design DBG to help address gaps in Ghana’s credit markets, especially a scarcity of medium- and long-term finance for the private sector.
DBG will facilitate business growth and job creation and accelerate economic transformation by supporting the financial sector through participating institutions in both the banking industry and the capital markets.
DBG’s primary areas of focus include agribusiness (especially off-farm value-chain activities), manufacturing, information/communications technology and allied services and tourism. It is expected to propel economic growth, create jobs and improve domestic revenue mobilisation.
The bank has become a key institution to promote private sector-led growth under the Ghana CARES Obaatanpa programme, an essential element of Ghana’s plans for post-COVID economic transformation. It is launching operations with an initial total funding in excess of US$750 million from the Government of Ghana and notable development finance institutions.
The government expects DBG to use its strong financial position to support the growth of private sector companies, create high-quality jobs and enable Ghana’s private sector to compete on more favourable terms within the framework of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
The DBG board has been tasked to establish the bank’s international pedigree rapidly and scale up its resource envelope to drive the country’s economic transformation agenda, in line with the principles of Ghana Beyond Aid.
AfDB will have a seat on the board, while the World Bank and KfW each hold observer status.
Asaase Radio 99.5 – tune in or log on to broadcasts online
99.5 in Accra, 90.7 in Ho, 98.5 in Kumasi, 99.7 in Tamale, 89.5 in Tarkwa, and 106.9 in Walewale
Follow us on Twitter: @asaaseradio995
#AsaaseRadio
#TheVoiceofOurLand
