The 8th Steering Committee of the 8th Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference – GITFiC after careful deliberations during the months of November and December 2023, and in pursuant to a successful appointment of a distinguish person to chairman and preside over the smooth running of the students’ club of the GITFiC-AfCFTA programs at the tertiary level of the African Continent, and in consultation with the aforementioned personality, have conferred on same the chairmanship position.
In an appointment letter dated December 20, 2023, which was received on December 21, 2023, Dr. Nii Obodai Provencal distinguishedly and gladly accepted the appointment on December 27, 2023 and communicated the same to us.
His tenure as the chairman for the tertiary students’ club takes effect from February 1, 2024 to February 1, 2025, extendable based on mandate evaluation and performance.
The GITFiC-AfCFTA Tertiary Students Club was officially launched at the University of Ghana in March 2023. So far, three other prestigious schools in Ghana, namely, University of Development Studies (UDS), All Nations University (ANU) and Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), have granted permission to replicate same club on campus after successfully meeting all requirements. The Ghana International Trade and Finance Conference – GITFiC, will this year expand the club formation to other notable tertiary institutions across the African continent.
The clubs on these campuses are supervised by patrons (senior lecturers), the president (elected student), the vice president (elected student), the organizer (elected student), the secretary (elected student), and the treasurer (elected student), and they are governed by a constitution as mandated by the universities.
The purpose for these clubs is to include Africa’s academia into the AfCFTA framework discussions, expose students and graduates to the opportunities within the AfCFTA, and build a new force of entrepreneurs to take charge of Africa’s industrial revolution. The pillars and elements governing the African Continental Free Trade Area is clear enough and have since seen a smooth operation of implementation with the latest being the Guided Trade Initiative (GTI).
Dr. Edwin Alfred Nii Obodai Provencal comes to the table with extensively rich experience and a strong repertoire of knowledge as a Trade and Energy Economist. Below is his profile;
Dr. Edwin Alfred Nii Obodai Provencal (PhD), before his appointment as the Managing Director of the Bulk Oil Storage and Transportation (BOST) Company Limited, was the Technical Advisor to the Minister of Energy.
Dr. Provencal is a member of the board of directors of the Ghana Oil Company, GOIL, representing the 20% interest held in the company by Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited.
He has over twenty years experience in Executive Management roles in various organizations including serving as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Vodafone Wholesale/National Communications Backbone Company and Director of Strategy in Vodafone Ghana. Under his leadership, Vodafone leapfrogged from #3 to #2 in Revenue Market Share in the telecoms industry. His other places of work include Sambus Company Limited, Ghana Telecoms, K-Net; a leading Internet Service Provider and Globacom Ghana Limited, where he oversaw the Glo1 Business.
Dr. Provencal holds a PhD in Development Economics from the University of Ghana, Legon, an M.Phil. in Economics and an MBA in Management Information Systems (MIS) also from the University of Ghana, Legon and Bachelor of Science Degree in Electrical Engineering from Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST), Kumasi.
His other qualifications include a Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management from ACCA, Balanced Scorecard Certified Practitioner, a Certified Project Management Professional (PMP). He has also attended numerous certification programs from Harvard, USA and IMD, Switzerland.
Dr. Provencal has lectured at the Central University Business School and Regent University, both in Ghana. He is the founder and Managing Partner of Provencal & Associates, a management consulting company with a keen focus on improving shareholder value by building high-performing teams and developing leaders using various tools such as the Balanced Scorecard, Project Management, and Coaching.
Edwin is also Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow and fellowships at the Rotary Club of Accra South.
Dr. Provencal was appointed the Managing Director of BOST in August 2019. Under his watch as Managing Director, the company crept out of the many years of losses, starting 2013 to 2020, to make a profit of GHS163 million in 2021 and more than doubled the profit to GHS342 million in the 2022 financial year.
In his current role as Managing Director, Dr. Provencal, and Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited has won a total of thirty-five awards in the year 2023. The awards and special recognitions attained over the period came from the energy industry, public enterprise category, and continental corporate excellence awards.
Below are some of the laurels won in the year 2022-2023:
Personal Awards
1. 2023 Energy Personality of the Year, by Ghana Energy Awards
2. 2023 CIMG President’s Special Award
3. 2023 CEO of the Year, Oil & Gas (Downstream) by Ghana CEO Awards
4. 2023 Public Sector CEO of the Year by Africa Public Sector Conference & Awards
5. 2023 Honorary Doctor of Advanced Business Studies by Universidad Azteca, Mexico
6. 2023 Africa Most Respected CEO (Energy Storage) by The Business Executive held in Mauritius
7. Africa Top 50 Public Sector Leader by AFRICA PUBLIC SECTOR CONFERENCE & AWARDS 2023
8. Outstanding Public Sector Leadership Personality of the Year by Ghana Corporate Brands Awards 2023
9. 2023 National Governance & Business Leadership Award by the Governance & Business Leadership Awards
10. 2023 Ghana’s 100 Most Influential Persons
11. 2023 Global Business Excellence Award
12. 2022 Africa Top 50 Public Sector Leader during the Africa Public Sector Conference & Awards
13. 2022 CEO of the Year Bulk Oil Distribution, 7th Ghana CEO Awards
14. 2022 Outstanding Public Leadership, Public Sector, 7th Ghana
15. 2022 CEO Excellence Awards
16. 2022 CEO of the Year, Petroleum Sector, Ghana Energy Awards.
Bulk Energy Storage and Transportation Limited Company
1. 2023 Energy Company of The Year, Petroleum
2. 2023 Most Transformed Public Sector Company of the Year by Africa Public Sector Conference & Awards
3. 2023 Public Sector Exemplary Brand Leadership Award
4. 2023 Top 20 Public Sector Brands in Ghana Across Industries
5. 2023 PM Excellence, Oil & Gas Project of the Year Winner by PMI Ghana.
6. 2023 Iconic Ghanaian-owned company of the decade award by MADE IN GHANA AWARDS 2023
7. 2023 SSI Sustainability & Operational Excellence Award
8. 2023 Iconic Ghanaian Owned Company of the Decade Award, Made in Ghana Awards
9. 2022 Excellence in Corporate Governance, 5th Institute of Directors, Corporate Governance Excellence Awards
10. 2022 Excellence in Bulk Oil Transportation Infrastructure during the Africa Public Sector Conference & Awards. END.