Senior Lecturer in the Finance unit at Harvard Business School, Professor John Macomber has encouraged the private sector in Ghana and Africa to take advantage of the obligations and opportunities replete in the continent.
According to him, city and township sized investments can be done by the private sector through Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) because federal governments are unable to invest ahead due to massive urbanization and worsening scarcity of basic resources.
Addressing students of the University of Ghana Business School on the topic “Is now the time? Opportunities for private financing of public infrastructure in the Global South,” Prof Macomber said “this is the big story of our children’s lifetime,” adding that, the private sector has obligation and opportunities.
He explained that roads, mass transit, water, power and InfoTech are the sectors which drive economic growth. He elucidated on “Building Sustainable Cities; finance and innovation”, adding that, cities are the political units that can use new technology and financial models to craft business models which create value that never existed. Stressing that, this is a big business opportunity which can be exploited.
The chairman of the UGBS Seminar Series Dr. Abdul-Gafaru Abdulai expressed his gratitude to the facilitators and all those who attended the lecture. The Public lecture was attended by faculty members, administrative staff, students, some staff of OMNIBANK and the general public.
The lecture was to provide an opportunity to discuss the broader opportunities available for private financing of public infrastructure. It also explored how these opportunities might be exploited and accomplished in West Africa.
The Dean of UGBS, Professor Joshua Yindenaba Abor in his introductory speech acknowledged the importance of private investment in financing public infrastructure.
The Chairman of the event, Mr. Philip Oti – Mensah in his remarks advised new businessmen to desist from spending their profits on luxury.
He urged them to make investments that would expand their businesses. In introducing the speaker for the event, he encouraged the audience to pay attention to the lecture to pick salient points which will impact positively on their academic and working life.
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