Ho, Aug. 21, – Ghana requires a new breed of businessmen ready to take risks and establish an image of trustworthiness in loan application, repayment and business practices. Dr Richard Bani, Executive Director of the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI), made this point when he addressed Marketing students of Ho Polytechnic yesterday on chances available to them in the small-scale business sector. He said beneficiaries of tertiary education provide the potential for the new breed. The NBSSI is, therefore, establishing secretariats at the various tertiary institutions to groom students to go into small-scale businesses instead of seeking employment in the public sector. Dr Bani advised future entrepreneurs to be modest in the scale of businesses they wish to establish and to locate in the rural areas where the NBSSI will be predisposed to assist them. Answering questions, Dr Bani said the delays in granting loans to small-scale businessmen is necessary to ensure that crooks do not exploit the facility. Dr Bani said there are numerous instances where loan beneficiaries provided false information about themselves and their businesses and refuse to repay the loans. This situation poses a challenge to tertiary students to prove that, with their knowledge, they would be a new breed of businessmen who will usher into the country a new era of honest business practices, he added. Speaking on ”the marketing profession in Ghana, prospects and challenges facing the student marketer”, Mr Daniel Okine, of Talent Marketing Services, said as a relatively new profession in the country, marketing practitioners carry heavy responsibilities, knowledge and skills without inhibitions. He said the future for marketing in Ghana is promising provided as marketers, they are able to spot and explore various options that are available.
