The Industrial Pinnacle Awards for excellence has been launched in London.

Industrial Pinnacle Awards (IPA) is designed to recognise and reward achievements chalked by all Ghanaians, both at home and abroad, in the area of entrepreneurship and business management, technology, research and education.

The award is under the management of a 12-member national advisory board and would be implemented in conjunction with the Ministries of Trade, Industry and Presidential Special Initiative, Science and Environment, Education, Private Sector Development and the Ghana National Chamber for Commerce and Industry.

Award winners who would be honoured annually as part of the national programme to commemorate Ghana's independence anniversary as from next year would receive tax and import duty exemptions, flags, plaques and certificates of merit.

The first awards ceremony for Ghanaians abroad would be held in London next April under the auspices of the Ghana High Commission.

Present at the launch were the Hon. Saddique Abubakar (MP), Deputy Minister for Tourism and the Modernisation of the capital city; Mr. Kwabena Baah Duodu, Ghana's Acting High Commissioner to the UK, Mr. Akron Botchway, a Board member(IPA), Mr. E.O. Duodu, Board member (IPA) and the Financial Controller of Ghana Cement Company; Mr. Martin Quansah, Minister Political and Economy of the Ghana High Commission and other senior officials of the Ghana High Commission.

Launching the awards, Honourable Boniface Saddique Abubakar, who is also the Chairman of IPA Advisory Board, said the institution of the award re-enforces the government's avowed commitment to "support the developing partners of the economy to create wealth and improve the living standards of Ghanaians”.

"The scheme is targetted at energising the private sector by recognising ingenious and talented individuals and spur them on to strive for excellence" said the Hon. Deputy Minister.

He touched on various initiatives introduced by the government to rejuvenate the private sector and announced that the disbursement of the Export Development and Investment fund had commenced to provide long term venture capital for industry.

The Hon. Minister urged Ghanaian businesses to adopt sound management practices by engaging the services of qualified and experienced personnel in the running of their businesses.

On tourism, the Deputy Minister stated that the government’s determination to develop the sector into the leading foreign exchange earner for Ghana in the medium term was an indication of its resolve to reduce the country’s dependence on non-renewable resources.

On his part, Mr. Kwabena Baah-Duodu, who chaired the function, observed that the government‘s prudent fiscal and monetary policies had started to yield dividends as evidenced by the growing national reserves and said that the government would continue to build on these achievements in the years ahead.

He called on Ghanaian businesses to embrace the scheme to enable them grow and expand their operations into the West Africa sub region and beyond.

The Acting High Commissioner described the incorporation of Ghanaians living abroad into the scheme as an eloquent demonstration of the government’s recognition of the efforts that Ghanaians in the diaspora were making towards the revival of the economy.

Giving the background to the scheme, Mr. Akron Botchway said the concept originated from Industrial Pinnacle Africa Network, an organisation dedicated to forging the necessary collaboration between political and corporate leadership for the development of African economies