Refurbished Electronics: A Lucrative Option For The Economy Of Ghana
The Republic of Ghana, as it is known officially, is a unitary presidential constitutional democracy situated in West Africa. Ghana is located along the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean towards the south. The rest of the country is bordered by the Ivory Coast in the west, Togo in the east and Burkina Faso in the north. As of March 2018, the population of Ghana is estimated to be a little over 29 million. The biggest cities of the country, where the majority of the population resides include Accra (the capital of Ghana), Kumasi, Sekondi-Takoradi, Tamale, Obuasi and Cape Coast.
Thanks to its fewer policy barriers to trade and investment, Ghana has shaped well as a market-oriented economy. Agriculture, mining and petroleum are a few of the major contributors to the economic growth. Moreover, the country is well-endowed with natural resources such as gold and copper.
Ghana witnessed a substantial rise in the economy towards the beginning of the millenium. Back then, competitive business environment, sound management and constant reductions in poverty levels were seen. Yet, the recent years in Ghana have brought much of economic instability with poor fiscal policy, account deficits, high budget and depreciating the value of the currency.
In 2016, the economy grew by 3.6%, which was the lowest in 22 years. 7.9% growth was recorded in 2017. And this year the growth percentage is projected to be 8.3%, and this would make Ghana the fastest growing economy in the world.
As Ghana is moving towards achieving a sustained macroeconomic stability, we put forward our role in catalysing its economic success. We, as market leaders in refurbished electronics stream, are conscious of the gains that a business can make by embracing the refurbishment policy. Therefore, we are sharing the benefits of certified pre-owned electronics that can help Ghana achieve an appreciable per capita income – the ‘2020 goal’ of the country.
The Advent Of Telecommunications
Ghana stands among the top countries in Africa when it comes to the introduction of technological advancements in the telecom sector. Telecommunications is one of the primary economic sectors of the nation. In 1992, Ghana was the first country to launch a cellular mobile network in Sub-Saharan Africa. Soon after that, it became one of the first countries in Africa to establish a World Wide Web connection, followed by the introduction of ADSL broadband services.
Ghana is among the few African countries that enjoy an immensely liberalised telecom market. Since the time Ghana Telecom was shifted to the private sector in 1996, it set a new trend of liberalisation and deregulation in Africa. The series of successful implementations in the telecommunications market led the country to be recognised as the most vibrant mobile markets. With a tough competition among the mobile operators such as Telecom Ghana, Westel, Tigo, Bharti Airtel the number of mobile subscribers rose to 3 million in 2006 (approximately 13%). By the end of 2012, the level of mobile penetration showed an exponential rise.
The ICT sector in Ghana has seen a rapid development phase over the last decade. In many respects, the nation proved to have a positive influence in Africa. After the introduction of internet in the country, major investments were made to spread the internet penetration across the region. In February 2014, Ghana was reported to have fastest internet speed in Africa positioning itself as the 110th country out of 188 countries in the world. However, the overall statistical analysis reveals that Ghana has an internet penetration of around 15% with a huge potential to further expand the broadband and internet facility via mobile networks.
Why Connecting All Ghanaians To Broadband Is Still A Challenge?
Though Ghana has made appreciable strides, the broadband penetration rates are relatively low. The citizens, especially the lower and the middle class is not able to afford it as the prices remain high. A case study regarding the same reveals that low ownership of computers, laptops and tablets is seen as another barrier for lower subscriptions to broadband. According to 2010 census, only 7.9% of households in Ghana owned a laptop or computer.
Going forward, the Ministry of Communications (MoC) is working on nailing down a new broadband policy in which improving affordability is a key objective. With the introduction of the new policy, the government aims at providing an affordable broadband access to every household by 2020.
How Refurbished Electronics Can Help Achieve Economic Goals?
In 2011, Ghana’s economy shifted from a lower-income status to a middle-income status. The most important factor responsible for the growth was the increase in trade. Today, businesses require a major investment in IT assets. However, the high cost of new electronic products is still a barrier that drags away substantial amount of capital. To overcome this challenge, certified pre-owned electronics such as second hand laptops and computers prove to be a lucrative option. Small, medium-sized and even large businesses can opt for used laptops in Ghana to save on major investments.
In fact, the use of refurbished electronics by businesses has proved to improve the bottomline. Embracing a refurbished policy for IT assets can improve business operations, enhance savings and improve the economy as a whole. Even the middle-income earners can afford used laptops and PCs due to the low price. Hence, penetration of refurbished computers will not just increase the consumer demand, but will also contribute indirectly to the savings of individuals. Use of second-hand laptops opens new channels for individuals and businesses to enhance per capita savings and income. For example, if you wish to buy a laptop worth the US $1000 you can save as much as $300 to $500 (sometimes more) when buying its refurbished counterpart!
A Full Range Of Laptops And Computers Are Available In Refurbished Category
The citizens of Ghana have a keen interest in purchasing laptops of HP, Dell and Toshiba. Moreover, the demand for laptops featured with a webcam and latest processors over the older ones such as Pentium 4 and single core processors is high. The point is, Ghanaians have bias towards good quality products, though at a lower price.
Therefore, to fulfill their wishlist, refurbished electronics are available in all brands with a variety of specifications at an amazingly affordable price. Dell and HP are two such high rated brands in the world. So, people can buy HP and Dell laptops and other gadgets at half the price or even more in the refurbished category. All the more, it is not just about low price, there are greater benefits to it. Let us explore them in the discussion below.
Facts And Benefits Of Certified Pre-owned Electronics
Refurbished products are shipped back to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) and refurbishers due to several reasons – a minor or a major internal defect, unopened products, products damaged in shipping or models that are demonstrated at retail stores. Such products cannot be sold as new, so they fix whatever was wrong and then send it to the market as refurbished items.
Now, during the repair process, a stringent refurbishing policy is followed by the refurbishers or the manufacturers that help them recondition the item to as good as new ones. A point to be noted here is that second-hand laptops and other items are sent for a double quality control check, in contrast to the new counterparts which are just tested once. Hence, used computers are only as likely to encounter a problem, as any new gadget would. And that definitely is a big benefit.
But when you buy used laptops in Ghana ensure that you are buying it directly from the OEM or an authorised refurbisher such as Veracity World. Authorised refurbishers provide warranty and return policy with a longest possible period. Even more, they stick to environment friendly ways of refurbishing. This gives you additional satisfaction of being a responsible citizen, and a contributor towards creating a more sustainable world.
How Veracity World Can Help You?
Veracity World is one of the most reputed refurbishing companies in UAE. It follows every refurbishment operation while adhering to standard environmental norms. It offers tailor-made IT asset solutions to businesses, thus helping them make better investment plans and strategies for future development.
It sets itself apart from the other players, as customer satisfaction, safety/security compliance and optimum purchase options are the key objectives of the company. If you buy used laptops in bulk from Veracity World, you will definitely leverage all the benefits discussed above.
Innovative thinking, entrepreneurial mindset and willingness to change for the better can take your business to a new height of success – same holds good for the economy. Try having a refurbished policy for your company and experience the positive change. Veracity World wants its customers to come back again – so you will have the best deal for refurbished electronics.