B5 Plus: Mukesh Thakwani Discusses the Impacts of COVID-19 on the Iron and Steel Sector in Ghana

Mukesh V. Thakwani, Founder and CEO of B5 Plus Ltd, mentions some of the main challenges to be faced by the iron and steel sector in Ghana, as well as the company. He also talks about the impacts of COVID-19 on B5 Plus Ltd and the industry, and explains how thinking outside of the box during those tough times led the company to implement many improvements.

“For the industry as a whole, the biggest challenge we are having right now is the electricity prices. Electricity prices in Ghana are much higher compared to the international markets. We have competition with tough countries from Asia where the price of electricity is much lower compared to that of Ghana. There is also the issue of the timely supply of electricity for the new industries and challenges with the water supply”, says Mukesh V. Thakwani.

“COVID-19 has affected many industries and the steel industry was not left out. We had our own challenges, from manpower to health issues. And then, on the ground, there was the challenge with the regular supply of electricity and water. The Ghanaian government has really done a commendable job in these difficult times. We are very proud to say that Ghana has come out as a winner. The number of cases in Ghana was quite low because the Ghanaian people really listened to the regulations of the Ministry. In the near future, COVID-19 will be a thing of the past here. For the last six months, we have been giving free oxygen supply to all government and private hospitals. We have also given a lot of donations to the government and private individuals, whatever we could do. Collectively, there were very good efforts made by the Ghanaian government, Ghanaian companies, and individuals. Today, we are blessed that Ghana is comparatively a much safer zone. In the near future, we will be able to put COVID-19 behind us”, he adds.

“Tough times never last but tough people do. I really believe in this mantra. When times are tough, this is when the real leaders emerge and come up with a better solution. We had to be stationed in one place and we learned to do our meetings on Zoom, for example. Bringing the technology and automation closer to us was new. Also, during this time, we never fired a single person; rather, we went ahead and hired, as a CSR activity, as a group policy. In difficult times, how can we sustain ourselves and at the same time try to grow? We have a couple of projects which are coming up and we were able to start on that. For example, we had a 25 kilometer long wall we wanted to build around our compounds as a new project. That is how we were able to create employment. We were able to think outside of the box, put the new projects on blueprint, and find how we could have government support to really make the ‘Made in Ghana’ dream come true”, says Mr. Thakwani.

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