AngloGold Ashanti Obuasi mine is widely known to be the bedrock and financial pillar of the Obuasi economy over the years.
The mining company has been the biggest employer and source of livelihoods for most homes in Obuasi.
Efforts have been made by stakeholders including the Obuasi Municipal Assembly to wean the economy from its overdependence on AngloGold Ashanti and the Obuasi mine.
The introduction of the Obuasi trade show in 2019 has been hailed as an important intervention to diversify the economy of Obuasi through trade.
According to Elijah Adansi-Bonah, the Chief Executive for the Obuasi Municipal Assembly, the Assembly joined forces with AngloGold Ashanti and the Obuasi East District to roll out the trade show to promote business activity in the mining town.
Speaking at the end of a 2-day capacity building workshop sponsored by the Obuasi Municipal Assembly as part of the 2023 Obuasi trade show, MCE Adansi-Bonah said the interest shown by business owners in the trade show since its inception signifies that business activities are gaining grounds in Obuasi, marking a positive milestone in the quest to diversify the economy of Obuasi.
The training programme was centered around costing, pricing and customer service.
The Obuasi MCE charged participants who will exhibit their products at the upcoming trade show scheduled for 21st to 25th December, 2023, to apply the knowledge gained in their business activities to promote efficiency and increase productivity.
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The MCE, in an interview with the media at the sidelines of the training programme, emphasized that the Obuasi economy will soon expand with the completion of the Obuasi Trauma Hospital and the KNUST-Obuasi campus which was established in 2019.
“The Trauma Hospital which is near completion will bring a lot of people to Obuasi to access quality healthcare. This coupled with the existing Knust-obuasi campus which has already brought a lot of people in Obuasi, has the potential of expanding the economy of Obuasi,” he added.
The MCE, however, said with the anticipated expansion of the economy of Obuasi coupled with improvement in the security situation in Obuasi means, Obuasi is open for investment and called on residents to take advantage of business opportunities in the town to reduce overreliance on jobs at AngloGold Ashanti.
Participants at the training programme lauded organizers of the trade show for its impact on their businesses, stressing that their businesses have improved since joining the trade show as a result of the trade show platform and the capacity building workshops.
They were upbeat about the success of this year’s trade show, urging the general public to show keen interest in the programme.