The Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr Henry Kofi Wampah, has advised Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to bring formality into their operations through addressing their governance weaknesses, improving record keeping and honouring obligations promptly to attract the services of banks.
He said the SMEs housed a large number of companies and provided employment to several people and were also a major driving force of development for any economy, hence the need for them to reform their operations to improve their business.
Speaking at the launch of the 2013 Banking Survey organised by PricewaterhouseCoopers (pwc) Ghana Limited on the theme, “Harnessing the SME potential,” Dr Wampah urged finance houses and banks to give the needed attention to the SMEs.
“The survey results have re-echoed some of the problems of micro, small, medium scale enterprises (MSMEs) which hinder their access to credit. These include poor governance practices, lack of risk management practices, poor record keeping and the fusion of business with personal ownership,” he said.
The Chief Executive Officer of Kama Group of Companies, Dr Michael Agyekum Addo, who chaired the event made a case for the SMEs and called on the banks to see them as development partners.
He also urged the banks to develop relationships with the SMEs by nurturing their businesses as well as providing them the convenient environment to develop their businesses.
The overview of the survey report which was sampled by 26 banks was presented by Mr Oseini Amui, an assurance partner of the pwc.
The report revealed that the Bank of Ghana instituted certain measures to streamline the banking industry, and raised the minimum capital requirement of the banks.
He explained that, responses from the survey was broadly structured into four key areas; markets, strategic value and opportunities, SMEs’ banking needs and available products, services and channels, key challenges associated with SMEs and suitability of banks’ internal systems including risk management systems to handle the SME market. GB
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
UniBank relaunches Bancassurance products
UniBank Ghana Limited has relaunched three of its Bancassurance products aimed at providing a variety of banking and insurance services to its clients.
The products, Wealthmaster Plus, the HomeCall Plus and the Family Protection Plan, are being offered to clients to provide them with a convenient and hassle- free way of purchasing their insurance products at one location.
The new products are being brought to clients in collaboration with Starlife Assurance, a leading life assurance company, which is the underwriter of Bancassurance’s products.
Addressing the media at the launch, the Executive Advisor, Institutional and International Relations of uniBank, Mr Clifford Duke Mettle, said the introduction of Bancassurance was in pursuance of the bank’s policy to introduce non-generic banking products as part of their total product bouquet.
The Family Protection Plan, he explained, was a renewable life assurance policy which ensures that payment was made to beneficiaries who met the terms and conditions of the policy, when the event insured against occurred.
This product comes with four benefits: Death benefit, total and permanent disability benefit; dread disease benefit and retrenchment benefit.
He noted that the policy could be taken to cover spousal death and child disability, and promised clients that 25 per cent cash bonus payment of the annual premium would be made every three years if no payment was made for claims over any three-year period.
The HomeCall Plan provides insured individuals and their family members or groups with instant cash to enable them to organise fitting burial and funeral ceremonies for their loved ones.
Mr Mettle also said, “The uniBank WealthMaster Plus has, therefore, been specifically designed to enable holders to realise their dreams even in their absence. It offers policy holders a unique opportunity to create wealth to meet their medium and long-term goals.”
He was optimistic that with the introduction of these products, uniBank would fundamentally transform the financial landscape and continue to introduce not only innovative products, but also offer enhanced services and reach out to various sectors of the economy.
Mr Mettle assured their customers, “we will continuously provide bespoke (tailor-made) services developed per your taste and preference and we will strive to position uniBank as the preferred choice for banking.”
The General Manager, Operations of Starlife, Mr Kwame Asare Boakye, stressed that Starlife had the requisite ICT system to support uniBank to deliver quality services to its esteemed customers.
uniBank (Ghana) Limited was incorporated as a private company in December,1997 to operate as a bank and is a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, authorised to undertake a broad range of banking business.
The products, Wealthmaster Plus, the HomeCall Plus and the Family Protection Plan, are being offered to clients to provide them with a convenient and hassle- free way of purchasing their insurance products at one location.
The new products are being brought to clients in collaboration with Starlife Assurance, a leading life assurance company, which is the underwriter of Bancassurance’s products.
Addressing the media at the launch, the Executive Advisor, Institutional and International Relations of uniBank, Mr Clifford Duke Mettle, said the introduction of Bancassurance was in pursuance of the bank’s policy to introduce non-generic banking products as part of their total product bouquet.
The Family Protection Plan, he explained, was a renewable life assurance policy which ensures that payment was made to beneficiaries who met the terms and conditions of the policy, when the event insured against occurred.
This product comes with four benefits: Death benefit, total and permanent disability benefit; dread disease benefit and retrenchment benefit.
He noted that the policy could be taken to cover spousal death and child disability, and promised clients that 25 per cent cash bonus payment of the annual premium would be made every three years if no payment was made for claims over any three-year period.
The HomeCall Plan provides insured individuals and their family members or groups with instant cash to enable them to organise fitting burial and funeral ceremonies for their loved ones.
Mr Mettle also said, “The uniBank WealthMaster Plus has, therefore, been specifically designed to enable holders to realise their dreams even in their absence. It offers policy holders a unique opportunity to create wealth to meet their medium and long-term goals.”
He was optimistic that with the introduction of these products, uniBank would fundamentally transform the financial landscape and continue to introduce not only innovative products, but also offer enhanced services and reach out to various sectors of the economy.
Mr Mettle assured their customers, “we will continuously provide bespoke (tailor-made) services developed per your taste and preference and we will strive to position uniBank as the preferred choice for banking.”
The General Manager, Operations of Starlife, Mr Kwame Asare Boakye, stressed that Starlife had the requisite ICT system to support uniBank to deliver quality services to its esteemed customers.
uniBank (Ghana) Limited was incorporated as a private company in December,1997 to operate as a bank and is a wholly-owned Ghanaian company, authorised to undertake a broad range of banking business.
Business urged to adapt to ICT
The Head of Consumer and Corporate Affairs at the National Communications Authority (NCA), Mrs Nana Defie Badu, has urged companies to learn and adopt innovative ways to meet changing needs of consumers.
She said with the fast pace of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), consumers had become more dynamic through changing trends of their needs, hence the need for companies to adapt to the changing patterns to be successful.
Mrs Defie Badu thus reminded businesses that human interaction was now a vital tool for total customer satisfaction, hence the need for contact centres to help increase customer satisfaction and accessibility to customers.
She was speaking at an ICT forum on the theme, “Utilising Contact Centres as a Business Solution” organised by the Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA) in Accra.
The GGEA,in co-operation with the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK), offers substantial information and assistance to its clients with the main ambition of trade promotion, networking, and market-entry support for both members and non-members.
The President of the GGEA, Mr Stephen Antwi, explained after the forum that it was high time companies embraced the idea of contact centres so that they could keep in touch with their clients.
The Director of Strategy at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Mr Tony Bediako, reiterated that broadband had become a critical infrastructure prerequisite, as ICT bears considerable impact in the creation of information society.
He said broadband was serving as the foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life, adding that it was facilitating the development of the entire ICT-enabled sector and unlocking vast new possibilities and also re-engineering existing businesses and industries.
The Customer Service Manager of Beige Capital, Mr Godson Kofi Davies, speaking on the topic, “Case study of financial services contact centre best practices”, said a contact centre was a facility used by companies to manage most client contacts through a variety of media such as telephone, website, letter, e-mail and increasingly online live chat.
He explained that contact centres offered convenience, efficient, easy access to information, and helped to monitor service quality levels and handle calls more professionally.
A former Managing Director of Exceed Ghana Limited, Mr Edwing Provencal, in his presentation, stressed the need for proper treatment of call centre agents.
She said with the fast pace of the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT), consumers had become more dynamic through changing trends of their needs, hence the need for companies to adapt to the changing patterns to be successful.
Mrs Defie Badu thus reminded businesses that human interaction was now a vital tool for total customer satisfaction, hence the need for contact centres to help increase customer satisfaction and accessibility to customers.
She was speaking at an ICT forum on the theme, “Utilising Contact Centres as a Business Solution” organised by the Ghanaian-German Economic Association (GGEA) in Accra.
The GGEA,in co-operation with the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Ghana (AHK), offers substantial information and assistance to its clients with the main ambition of trade promotion, networking, and market-entry support for both members and non-members.
The President of the GGEA, Mr Stephen Antwi, explained after the forum that it was high time companies embraced the idea of contact centres so that they could keep in touch with their clients.
The Director of Strategy at the National Information Technology Agency (NITA), Mr Tony Bediako, reiterated that broadband had become a critical infrastructure prerequisite, as ICT bears considerable impact in the creation of information society.
He said broadband was serving as the foundation for economic growth, job creation, global competitiveness and a better way of life, adding that it was facilitating the development of the entire ICT-enabled sector and unlocking vast new possibilities and also re-engineering existing businesses and industries.
The Customer Service Manager of Beige Capital, Mr Godson Kofi Davies, speaking on the topic, “Case study of financial services contact centre best practices”, said a contact centre was a facility used by companies to manage most client contacts through a variety of media such as telephone, website, letter, e-mail and increasingly online live chat.
He explained that contact centres offered convenience, efficient, easy access to information, and helped to monitor service quality levels and handle calls more professionally.
A former Managing Director of Exceed Ghana Limited, Mr Edwing Provencal, in his presentation, stressed the need for proper treatment of call centre agents.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)