Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA Ghana Bernard Gyebi, has called for a more integrated approach to Ghana’s industrial transformation, arguing that reliable energy, appropriate financing, digital innovation, access to markets and entrepreneurship must work together if Ghanaian businesses are to become competitive regional and global exporters.
Speaking at the Ghana Industrial Summit & Exhibition (GISE) 2026, organised by the Association of Ghana Industries (AGI), Mr. Gyebi said Ghana’s ambition to achieve sustainable export-led industrial growth requires more than access to finance.
The ninth edition of the Summit was held under the theme, “Driving Sustainable Export-Led Industrial Growth through Energy Reliability and Digital Innovation.” Mr. Gyebi identified five interconnected elements, energy, finance, technology, markets and entrepreneurship, as critical to Ghana’s industrial transformation.
“Reliable energy enables continued production, which helps bring down the cost of production. Finance enables businesses to scale. Technology drives efficiency. When regional and continental markets open up, they help local businesses to scale up. Above all, entrepreneurship converts opportunity into jobs and prosperity,” he said.
Banks must go beyond lending
Mr. Gyebi said financial institutions must rethink their role in Africa’s industrialisation and become long-term partners in business growth rather than focusing primarily on the provision of credit.
“The role of banks in Africa’s industrial transformation must go beyond providing credit. We must become partners in industrial growth,” he said.
He explained that UBA’s approach is to understand the complete business cycle of its customers, from receiving payments and managing cash flows to paying suppliers, financing inventory, acquiring productive assets, trading across borders and expanding into new markets.
For MSMEs, he noted that access to finance must be complemented by deliberate efforts to improve their bankability through formalisation, proper record keeping, good governance, accurate financial reporting and greater adoption of digital payment systems.
As part of its collaboration with AGI, UBA Ghana plans to organise training and coaching sessions for SME owners and managers across the country, aimed at helping businesses appreciate the importance of formalisation and improving their readiness to access financial services.
Digital innovation must solve business problems
Mr. Gyebi also challenged businesses and financial institutions to ensure that investments in digital technology address practical commercial challenges rather than pursuing technology for its own sake.
“Digital transformation should not be pursued simply because technology is available. For businesses, technology must solve real problems,” he stated.
He said digital solutions should help businesses collect payments more efficiently, reduce the cost and time involved in paying suppliers, improve visibility over cash flows and simplify access to financial services.
AfCFTA presents opportunity for Ghanaian businesses
Turning to regional trade, the UBA Ghana MD/CEO urged Ghanaian businesses to look beyond the domestic market and take advantage of opportunities presented by ECOWAS and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
He noted that Ghanaian manufacturers already export products to neighbouring markets including Togo, Benin, Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria, but argued that local businesses have the potential to penetrate markets across the wider African continent.
Mr. Gyebi said UBA’s presence across 20 African countries provides an important platform for businesses seeking to trade and expand across the continent.
He added that UBA’s trade finance, cross-border payments, remittance and transaction banking solutions are intended to reduce some of the friction businesses encounter when expanding beyond their domestic markets.
Building Ghana’s next industrial champions
Mr. Gyebi said Ghana and Africa do not lack entrepreneurs but require an ecosystem capable of enabling promising businesses to achieve scale.
“We need SMEs that become medium-sized enterprises. And we need Ghanaian businesses that grow from serving domestic customers to becoming regional and global exporters,” he said.
Reaffirming UBA’s commitment to African enterprise, Mr. Gyebi said the Bank would continue working with AGI, government, industry, customers and other stakeholders to support the emergence of a new generation of Ghanaian and African industrial champions.
“The challenge for all of us is to turn today’s conversations into action. UBA Ghana is ready to play its part,” he concluded.
