The International Chamber of Commerce’s (ICC) newest Executive Board member, Valentina Mintah, has said that one of her key priorities in the new role will be to boost trade ties between the UAE and Africa.
The election to the board of the Ghanaian-British technology executive, who is based in Dubai, was announced last week alongside the appointment of MasterCard CEO Ajay Banga as ICC’s new Chair.
Ms. Mintah, internationally-recognised for her expertise in trade facilitation and process automation, is the founder and former CEO of West Blue Consulting, an award-winning ICT organisation based in West Africa. A resident of Dubai, she plans to leverage her West African expertise to forge greater trade ties with the UAE and Gulf region.
Speaking following the announcement, Valentina Mintah said: “It is a great privilege to have been elected to the Executive Board of the International Chamber of Commerce, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of international trade, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation.”
She continued: “With cumulative non-oil trade between the UAE and Africa since 2011 valued at around USD1 trillion, and the untapped potential of UAE exports to Africa valued at around USD3.6 billion, there is no shortage of long-term, high-value trade and investment opportunities for both markets. Having business operations in both regions, and with a deep understanding of their histories, trajectories and potential, I look forward to working on behalf of ICC alongside the UAE’s own Chambers to further develop bilateral business opportunities and leverage the commercial potential of Africa’s emerging economies.”
ICC is the institutional representative of more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries. The Executive Board is responsible for developing and implementing ICC’s strategy, policy and programme of action, and for overseeing the financial affairs of the world business organisation. Executive Board members further support the work of ICC national committees, such as the Dubai-based ICC-UAE, whose mission is to promote the interests of the UAE’s business community.
ICC Secretary General John W.H. Denton AO said: “ICC is delighted to welcome Valentina Mintah to its global Executive Board. Throughout her career, Valentina has championed international trade facilitation both in her home region of West Africa and in number of transitional economies across the world. As a resident of the United Arab Emirates, and with her additional role as Vice-Chair of ICC Ghana, she is uniquely placed to enable the strengthening of commercial and trade ties between a number of key, high growth global markets.”
Having founded West African-based West Blue Consulting in 2012, Ms. Mintah led the company to successfully develop and deliver a national single window platform for Nigeria, significantly optimisting and improving trade facilitation in the country, and leading to savings of USD 25 million per month for the Government of Nigeria.
In 2014, West Blue Consulting further harnessed its customs modernisation expertise to develop and implement a national single window platform for Ghana. Within two years of its implementation in 2015 at ports across the country, the platform had saved the Government of Ghana USD 500 million. This resulted in Ghana rising through the ranks of the World Bank’s ‘Ease of Doing Business’ index, becoming a vibrant hub for continental free trade.