In its quest to facilitate the expansion of trade and investment between Ghana and Barbados, an indigenous Ghanaian firm and its counterpart from Barbados have signed a partnership agreement to boost e-commerce within the two countries.
The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which took place on the sidelines of a business-to-business investment summit organised by Invest Barbados – The Investment Agency of Barbados, was between Indigenous Transformation Technology Company, Akaditi.com, and Global Integrated Fintech Solutions (GIFTS), a financial technology firm in Barbados.
Speaking to Citi News, The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Akaditi.com, Nana Bambara- Abban, who signed on behalf of the Ghanaian company, stated that he was elated about the integration of the two companies as it will permit merchants in Africa and the Caribbean to sell their goods via a platform that is power-driven by artificial intelligence.
“This partnership is more of an integration of the two platforms, one in the Caribbean and the other in Africa where we provide services across Africa through technology. It is also exciting because we can currently use the opportunity to get over the negative stereotypes that we are not able to do business together,” he said.
Nana Bambara-Abban also stated that the two companies had united to work on one payment and shopping platform in Ghana and in Barbados since its Caribbean counterparts also had a similar system thus, integrating the two would boost e-commerce delivery across the Caribbean, in Africa and in some parts of America.
“We are doing similar things in different regions but now, we can come together to do the same thing as we continue to boost the south-south relationship. We are integrating the two companies in terms of technology though a shopping platform (SokoShopping) and a payment platform (SokoPay) for the whole of Africa,” he said.
He further noted that the partnership will also permit merchants and customers in Africa and the Caribbean to have access to affordable credits of US$1,000 dollars or less in their mobile wallet on their mobile phone devices using artificial intelligence to qualify for credit. This, he said is a first for Africa and the Caribbean.
On his part, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GIFTS, Mr Dave Sahadathn, who signed the document on behalf of his company said this the partnership is a great opportunity to serve the over 1.3 billion people in the African and Caribbean population.
“We are delighted to partner with Akaditi.com and are looking to boost trade and investment in the near future. This opportunity has also given us the chance to work with the youth since the population in Africa is an incredibly young one, mobile and tech-savvy,” he said.
The Prime Minister of Barbados, Miss Mia Amor Mottley, who witnessed the signing congratulated the two companies for the partnership and admonished them to take advantage of such opportunities with countries with similar vision and purpose to boost trade and investment on the continent.
