Kumasi, Sept 25, GNA- An Ashanti Investment and Information Business Software, called 'Sikadwa', was on Thursday launched at a ceremony in Kumasi.

The software, which is a directory of investment and business opportunities in the Ashanti region, will be showcased at the Asante Stand at the Ghana Expo 2003 exhibition slated for London, next month. The 'Sikadwa', which is an initiative of the Office Team Link, a human resource management consultancy firm in Kumasi and Kapital Radio, a local FM station, aims at packaging information on Ashanti, its culture and investment potentials to the outside world in order to attract investors to the region.

In an address read for him, Mr Sampson Kwaku Boafo, Ashanti Regional Minister, said the objective of the project was in consonance with the government's policy to implement a comprehensive ICT led socio-economic development policy capable of accelerating Ghanaian's development process towards an information and knowledge-based society and economy.

He said packaging of the Ashanti region to portray its culture, utilisation of natural resources and access to business information, will certainly promote the region locally and internationally, adding that, showcasing of 'Sikadwa' at the Expo 2003 exhibition in London will provide a platform and an appropriate opportunity for companies listed to get their basic information to the external market.

Mr Boafo commended Office Team Link and Kapital Radio for their initiative and appealed to the business community in the region to get listed on the software for a wider publicity.

Mrs Angela Mensah, Executive Director of Office Team Link, said the software offered a unique opportunity to businesses in Ashanti, listed on it to attract partners and investors while at the same time, open the floodgate for potential investors to make the region their preferred destination.

Mrs Judith Agyeman, General manager of Kapital Radio, said there was the need, to put all investment information in the region onto the computer to enable investors access them whenever they needed it. Oheneba Agyeman Badu, Atipimhene, who deputised for the Asantehene, said the initiative was in line with the Asantehene's developmental objectives and urged business community in the region to take advantage of the software to market their businesses to the outside world.