Academic City Dean of Business advocates more local buying to stop cedi fall

The Dean of Business, Entrepreneurship and Communication at Academic City University, Professor Enoch Opoku Antwi, has stressed the need for Ghanaians to increase consumption of locally made products to reduce dependence on imports and stabilise the national currency.

Speaking on the current affairs show The Focus on Zed 101.9FM, Professor Antwi explained that excessive importation, especially of goods tied to festive seasons, is one of the major causes of pressure on the cedi.

“Every year, as we approach December, businesses rush to import Christmas products such as clothing, gifts and decorations. These imports are made in dollars, which puts demand on foreign exchange and leads to depreciation of the cedi,” he said.

Professor Antwi noted that the recent weakening of the cedi, moving from 11 to around 12 against the dollar, is partly driven by such seasonal imports.

“The bottom line of the rising imports is that the average Ghanaian suffers, because inflation kicks in. Inflation is like a thief in everybody’s pocket,” he stressed.

Commenting on reports by Bloomberg, which recently ranked the cedi among the worst-performing African currencies, Professor Antwi challenged the reliance on Western institutions to assess African economies.

“For far too long, we’ve depended on rating agencies like S&P and Fitch. Africa does not even have its own credit rating agency. We need to build institutions that tell our own story,” he stated.

Professor Antwi further highlighted gaps in Africa’s economic structures, pointing to the absence of Fortune 500-listed companies on the continent and the low participation in Ghana’s stock market.

“In Ghana, we don’t even have more than 10 companies listed on the stock exchange. If major players are not listed, how can people buy stocks and shares?” he questioned.

Professor Antwi criticised the way success stories are told in Ghana, arguing that many narratives oversimplify the path to wealth.

“We often hear people say they made money selling cassettes, scraps or kerosene. But how many people can realistically do that? We need to tell our stories properly so others can learn from them,” he urged.

Professor Antwi also called on policymakers, businesses and the public to rethink economic practices, invest in local production and build strong financial institutions that reflect Africa’s realities rather than relying on external validation.