Bob ROCO Romeo

  The automotive industry has been boosted by the signatures of automobile giants like Volkswagen, Toyota, Suzuki, Renault and Nissan. Meanwhile, before the introduction of the giant automakers, there was also SinoTruck from China which has been equipped and started assembling here for the local market - i n a country where older vehicles make up 75% of the total number of vehicles on our roads. The government of Ghana, as part of its transformational agenda for the automobile industry, has identified Vehicle Assembly and Automotive Components Manufacturing as a strategic anchor industry to accelerate the country’s industrial development. Under the watch of re-elected president, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the country has offered tax breaks to carmakers and promised to restrict the invasion of foreign second-hand cars. In May this year, parliament banned the arrival of cars that are more than 10-years old in a bid to lure manufacturers to invest in Ghana’s automobile industry. As a re

The Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana (CIIG) has held its maiden insurance industry awards at the Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra last week. CIIG proved to be a super organiser when it held the maiden edition of the award ceremony, which they have long wanted to do over the past years but hadn’t been successful until that fateful Saturday night of November. The CIIG is the umbrella-body of all insurance professionals in the industry, and under the leadership of outgoing president, Rev. Asante Marfo-Ahenkora, thought it wise to institute a credible event to fill that gap. Speaking at the ceremony, Rev. Marfo-Ahenkora said the insurance industry - unlike other industries, had been bereft of an award team and an effort was made by the Ghana Insurers Association (GIA) some years ago to organise one, which unfortunately did not meet expectations of the industry and public as the event-planners failed to understand fully their peculiar industry nuances and complexities. He recalled

  After a lifetime in the car business, Hyundai Motor and Investment Ghana Limited - authorised dealer of Hyundai vehicles in the country, has unveilled the country’s first-ever 100 percent electric vehicle, the Kona Electric, onto the market in commercial quantity. The all-new Kona Electric vehicle - which is a sub-compact medium SUV electric vehicle, combines sleek, stylish design with a fully electric powering system to deliver superior performance while producing zero emissions. The Kona EV is characterised by sporty design and is equipped with latest in-car connectivity and technology, advanced safety and protective features, as well as more a comfortable and convenient experience. When fully charged, the Kone EV can on average take one on an about-484 kilometres journey. It comes with three levels of chargers: level-one chargers are domestic ones and take about 21-22 hours to fully charge, while the level-two charger takes nine hours to fully charge and the level-three or c

KEK Insurance Brokers and KEK Reinsurance Brokers have both been adjudged Best Insurance Brokers in Ghana at the maiden edition of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Ghana awards which took place at the Labadi Beach Hotel, Accra, last week Saturday 28 th November 2020. The Group carted home four awards in the following categories: CIIG Insurance Broker of the Year – General; CIIG Insurance Broker of the Year – Life; CIIG Reinsurance Broker of the year; and CIIG’s Most Supportive Broker. The awards were received by Shaibu Ali – Managing Director of KEK Insurance Brokers, and Nuerkie Afi Odzeyem, Chief Executive Officer of KEK Reinsurance Brokers (Africa) Ltd. Shaibu in receiving the awards dedicated them to founder of the Group, Kwesi Essel-Koomson of blessed memory, and the company’s teeming young staff who are giving their all for the company to succeed. KEK Insurance Brokers brought change to Insurance Broking in Ghana. The company was incorporated in 1985, got licensed in 1990, a

Hollard Ghana with subsidiaries, Hollard Insurance and Hollard Life Assurance picked up a total of three awards at the 2020 National Marketing Performing Awards organised by the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIMG) Awards held at the plush Labadi Beach Hotel in Accra. The awards event held under the theme: ‘Marketing in a Disruptive Era’, sought to honour businesses which have thrived and maintained excellence over the last year and despite the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic. The Group CEO of Hollard Ghana, Patience Akyianu, was named the Marketing Woman of the Year 2019 for leading Hollard Ghana to introduce groundbreaking innovative products like Hollard ChatInsure product and its popular virtual insurer, Araba Hollard. Also, Hollard Insurance, a subsidiary of the insurance group, took home ‘Insurance Company of the Year 2019’ in the Non-Life Insurance Category for its contributions in the insurance industry by introducing unmatched innovations. ‘Hollard ChatInsure’ and its Chatbot

Widely acclaimed as the initiator of the now popular live worship sessions on radio, Gilbert Abeiku Aggrey Santana, host of the 'Ekwanso Dwoodwoo' Drive Time show on Okay 101.7 FM and the Managing Director of Kaya Tours Ltd & Kaya Management Service, has been honoured for his exceptional contribution to Ghana's Gospel Industry. It all started about 20 years ago when Abeiku Santana, among other media personalities, brought Cindy Thompson, Esther Smith, Noble Nketiah just to mention a few into the public limelight. From the days of Ashh 101.7FM in Kumasi and Adom 106.3FM in Tema, Abeiku Santana will occasionally bring gospel singers and their instrumentalists on his Drivetime show to minister live to listeners. The studios of Okay Fm was on the afternoon of Friday, November 20, flooded with a team from one of the renowned Christian media agencies, Gospel 360 Africa, led by Andy Favoured and flanked by several A-list gospel artistes.  Present to honour the ace broa

The National Insurance Commission (NIC) has shown concern over overseas transfers of reinsurance premiums out of the country. Dr. Justice Yaw Ofori, Commissioner NIC, revealed that almost US$40million left the shores of Ghana in 2019. “This has a negative impact on our cedi and the local economy,” the Commissioner lamented. He pronounced this at the 11 th Ghana Reinsurance Cedants Awards held in Accra last week. He therefore entreated all insurers to exhaust local capacity before any recourse to overseas reinsurance, so as to reduce premium flight and harness resources needed to develop the country. Though the Commission is enjoined by the Insurance Act, 2006, to approve all reinsurance arrangements, this is generally aimed at developing the sector since it promotes a system wherein each insurer has access to risk and premium emanating from the local market. Hence, to ensure local capacity is fully utilise before any recourse to overseas reinsurance. The Commission grants ap

Ghana Re Insurance Company Limited (Ghana Re) the 11 th “Cedants Awards Night had a different feel this year because of the COVID-19-related lockdowns. The Award ceremony has traditionally been the most prestigious and glamorous event held in Ghana’s insurance industry.   Since its inception, the award ceremony has been organised annually to acknowledge the contributions of loyal cedants as well as reward some selected companies which have demonstrated exceptional loyalty and commitment to Ghana Re in one financial year. This year’s awards ceremony was in respect of the 2019 financial year. However, the difference was that the big-five companies in non-life and life were out of the race. Astonishingly, Saham Insurance Company Ghana walked away with the coveted General Business Cedant of the Year plaque, while Metropolitan Life Insurance Ghana emerged winner to cart away Cedant of the Year in the Life category.   KEK Re won the Broker of the Year award. Commenting on this ye

Nissan has appointed longtime partner Japan Motors as its partner in an all-new vehicle assembly facility in Ghana. The appointment which is as a result of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in 2018 between Nissan and the government of Ghana to lay the foundation for a sustainable automotive manufacturing industry in the country. The first model to be assembled at the new facility will be the all-new Nissan Navara pick-up, unveiled by Nissan earlier this month. Nissan has a long heritage within the pick-up segment and the new model will be produced to specifications created for the African market. The continued development of Nissan’s African manufacturing base is a key part of the company’s regional midterm strategy under Nissan NEXT, the company’s global transformation plan. Once operational, the Ghana facility will add to Nissan’s existing African production capacity at plants in South Africa, Egypt and Nigeria. The announcement demonstrates Nissan’s ongoing commitment to in

  Etop Ikpe, Founder and CEO of Autochek Autochek, the automotive technology company aiming to build solutions for the African market, has raised $3.4 million in a pre-seed funding round, co-led by TLcom Capital and 4DX Ventures with inclusion from Golden Palm Investments, Lateral Capital, Kepple Africa Ventures, MSA Capital and a number of local angel/seed investors.  The start-up will use the investment to grow its Nigeria and Ghana markets and will see further investment in technology and growing its teams. The pre-seed investment follows Autochek’s acquisition of Cheki Nigeria and Cheki Ghana brands in September 2020. Combining technology and data to power every process of the automotive transactional ecosystem for millions of people,  Autochek will transform the automotive buying and selling experience for African consumers, by creating a single marketplace for all automotive needs. This will include everything from sourcing and financing transactions to after sales support and wa

  Charles Okyere-Afoakwah Jnr., the ultimate design winner Malta Guinness, one of the leading brands from Guinness Ghana Brewery PLC, has unveiled a new label to commemorate it’s 30 years anniversary . This special celebratory label will be cut across all three SKU’s (Cans, PET Bottle and Glass Bottle) with same great taste and will be available across the country from November 2020 till March 2021 to extend the momentous celebration. Tapping into a tense cultural insight that “Ghanaians don’t support each other’s dreams and ambitions” Malta Guinness launched a two phase, brand-in-culture campaign to provoke a national debate drawing attention and belief behind the brand’s anniversary campaign “Celebrating Our Own”. The first phase of the #Rekognize campaign saw Malta Guinness facilitate conversations via digital and PR channels to encourage Ghanaians to celebrate their own. In the second phase of the campaign, the brand threw a challenge to nine (9) selected Ghanaian graphic d

  Over the weekend, Ada Gems Network (AGN) made a trip to the Ada West district, in the communities of Anyamam and Akplabanya respectively, to create awareness on breast cancer and empower young girls to take charge of their lives. These were done via house-to-house visits and community group discussions. All across the world, women in leadership positions are hampered by numerous obstacles, including pervasive and subtle or blatant attitudes and beliefs that women are unequal to men at home, work and in government. This event was held as part of activities toward the launch of Ada Development Network on 7th November 2020. The awareness creation campaign was marked with education on the need to accept persons with disorders, especially children, as part of the community, and self-check practices in order to detect early symptoms of breast cancer. Speaking to B&FT at the event, Executive President of the Ada Gems Network, Irene Amakie Sebbie said: “Many women with disorders are peop

  Initiating a social network amid a COVID pandemic may appear insensitive, but for the people in Ada State it is a way to own and bring economic development to an area that has not received much governmental support for many years. On November 7, 2020, Ada Development Network (ADN) will officially be launched in a move that sponsors of the Network believe will help to reshape the conversation and implementation of development projects at the community level. The programme, which will take place at the Tsarlekope Beach Resort, is on the theme ‘Unveilling the future of Ada; Rethink approaches and refocus strategies for community development’. ADN, a registered organisation, has taken years of planning and consulting to initiate, and its official launch is expected to help it better coordinate the activities of all fragmentated groups and development projects within the enclave of Ada state. “ADN seeks among many things to unite all fragmented groups of Ada for development; build the nee

  It is no secret that the 12th-generation Toyota Corolla has soul, which enables the sedan to be driven with feeling. Toyota cars are particularly robust, especially within the cabin and wheel areas. It is really fun to get into a Corolla because it has a boisterous personality.   It is also a rock-solid appliance that you can rely on. After spending time behind the wheel of the new Toyota Corolla, I am very influenced by the fact that it has soul. Whaaaat? Complete with an audio-infotainment upgrade that I would highly recommend, the Corolla is a sedan that made me fall in love with it. The new Corolla is more than just a car Toyota Ghana Company Limited’s blurb says “Nothing has changed. Except everything”. Needless to say, the overall look of the new Corolla is more energetic than most of the contemporary vehicles around. With the edgier styling and more engaging handling, Toyota has given car lovers an opportunity to love a car that has soul.   Traits of words like efficie

The Ford Ranger has received the highest award for quality in the midsize pickup segment in the US; according to the 2020 JD Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) report. The Initial Quality Study, now in its 34th year, is based on responses from 87,282 purchasers and lessees of new 2020 model year vehicles in the US who were surveyed after 90 days of ownership. The study took place from February through to May 2020. The JD Power Initial Quality Study (IQS) takes an updated look at the problems owners are having with their new vehicles, including those related to new technologies. The study, redesigned this year, measures components that fail and features that are difficult to use, hard to understand or don’t work the way owners want. Initial quality is determined by the number of problems experienced per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower score reflecting higher quality. “The Initial Quality Study is the industry benchmark for new-vehicle quality and, year after year, automakers app