Reacting to the continuous dominance of rural banks in the Club 100, he said: “The number of rural banks on the list of the GC100 companies is too high and going forward, a separate awards scheme should be developed for banks and financial institutions to make room for companies in other sectors of the economy to feature in the awards.“

Mr Osafo-Maafo said this last Thursday at the 16th edition of the Ghana Club 100 Awards in Accra on the theme: “Industrialisation –A tool for job creation and Accelerated Economic Development.” It brought together top players in the private sector, captains of industry, as well as leaders from the public sector.

He said the country was enjoying a lot of goodwill from countries around the world presently and that would translate into economic growth if the private sector could consolidate and expand its businesses to create more jobs and increase government’s revenue generation.

“When the private sector grows and pays more taxes, that is how the economy will grow so the government will continue to engage the private sector to help it expand for the benefit of the economy,” Mr Osafo-Maafo said.

The Senior Minister also hinted that the government was likely to spend more in 2018 to help grow the economy. 

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Accelerated industrialisation

The CEO of the GIPC, Mr Yofi Grant, in his welcome address, said the theme for this year’s edition of the event was selected as a build-up on the manufacturing focus of last year’s event, in support of the government’s vision of an industrialised economy.

“We can’t create wealth without industrialisation and that is why the government is building an economy with a focus on the private sector to create jobs and bring prosperity to all Ghanaians,” he said. 

Under the programme, the government seeks to build an industrialised economy that will be self-sustaining and not reliant on foreign aid.

It also aims to change the structure of the economy through investments in industrialisation and entrepreneurship to increase revenue generation.

Although ambitious, the government wants to ride on the back of the private sector to implement the policy by establishing medium to large-scale factories in each of the 216 districts nationwide.

Newmont tops chart

For the second consecutive year, Newmont Golden Ridge Ltd retained its position as the number one company on the prestigious list of the Ghana Club 100.

It was followed by telecom giant, MTN Ghana, as the second biggest company in the country, while Ghana Oil Company Limited (GOIL) made a strong showing in number three position, as the first Ghanaian company among the top three.

In the fourth place was Goldfields Ghana, while Vivo Energy was adjudged the fifth biggest in the country.

Other companies that made the top 10 list on the night include unibank Ghana LTD, Multipro Private LTD and Nordea Capital LTD. The rest are Justmoh Construction LTD and Total Petroleum Ghana LTD.

In all, over 50 financial institutions dominated the awards, with over 20 rural banks making the list. 

The GC 100 is an annual compilation of the top 100 companies in the country aimed at giving due recognition to successful enterprise building.

 It serves as a benchmark for corporate excellence in the country.