Saying goodbye and hello !

31-01-2025

Saying goodbye and hello !

Today the 31st of January is my last day as General Manager of GNBCC. Eight years ago I started in my function on Wednesday the 1st  of February taking over the helm of Fleur Hoog Antink, the then interim GM . GNBCC was just set up and in operation (officially in 2014) and moved to the office in Cantonments since less than a year. The Board under the Chair Mr Kofi Boateng told me that next to being a project organisation GNBCC was (and is) a Member organisation hence I was initially tasked to become familiar with the Members and put the Members in the forefront of GNBCC. Involve members in the projects, organise cocktails , get new members and retain current members. The GNBCC team then consisted out of Afke (who now works at CBI), Barnabas (still with us), Joana and of course Fleur (who stayed on until a couple of weeks, from her I took over the Liberia and Sierra Leone project ) . That same Wednesday or Thursday I was introduced at a GNBCC Cocktail to the Members .

It was a good journey for 8 years – under the Chair of Adelaide Benneh- Prempeh we went into the Covid – forced closing of the office – a very troubled time which had a big effect on GNBCC’s activities and projects . Also the number of potential Dutch investors and /or business visitors went to zero. As a result we went back to a skeleton staff of 4 and asked every team member to make a salary offer which we all did. In 2020/2021 – in consultation with the Embassy and under the Chair of Cindy Noordermeer- we started with a writing process to make a proposal focused on Private Sector Development and in September 2021 we received the phone call that our proposal was accepted and we would start working on this project for the coming 4 years – guaranteeing a solid financial base as  an opportunity to grow the GNBCC. This would benefit us becoming a more professional organisation and it would also benefit our Members who could be involved in our projects targeting the youth, women in business, diaspora, horticulture and cocoa. The Embassy like to work with us because of our Members and the Members like to be part of GNBCC because of its collaboration with the Embassy.

Now on this last day, after an amazing New Year’s cocktail yesterday evening in which I received very warm messages of my team members and Board  (present and past), the Ambassador and embassy staff, my sons (!) and from my successor Hilde Famaey – I can look back with pride on GNBCC and its team. I handover GNBCC to my successor Hilde whom I wish the best and I am convinced she will grow it further – she has ample business and financial experience having been the boss of Promasidor in Ghana (Cowbell) as well as being an entrepreneur herself by setting up Kenyio.  Finally I wish to thank all GNBCC Members for all their support to GNBCC these past year and we will see each other definitely in the future !!

I hereby handover the helm to Hilde !

Saying hello,

It is with great excitement that I start as the new General Manager of the GNBCC from the 1st of February.

I want to express my gratitude to Tjalling for his remarkable leadership over the past eight years. His dedication managing the GNBCC like his own venture has yielded strong results as expressed by the members and stakeholders during the New Year’s cocktail on Thursday 30th of January. A beautiful gathering and speeches with a hart warming touch !

As I take on this role, I am inspired by the shared vision of fostering robust economic and business connections between Ghana and the Netherlands and I look forward to create opportunities for Ghanaian and Dutch businesses to collaborate and grow.  We strive to enhance member services and networking opportunities in collaboration with the other chambers of commerce.

It will be a pleasure to work together with my colleagues to continue our collaboration on the Private Sector Development plan (PSD) and to work closely with the Embassy to prepare the second phase of the PSD for the period 2026-2029. We look forward to build on the strong foundation of the PSD-1 project to further enhance to a strong economic foundation through the private sector.

I look forward to engaging with all of you—our members, partners, and stakeholders—to continue this journey of mutual success. Together, we will build on the solid foundation laid by Tjalling and the dedicated GNBCC team, ensuring that we remain a cornerstone of trade and investment between Ghana and the Netherlands.

On a personal note, I feel very welcome in the GNBCC team. Thank you for your trust and support.

Hilde

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