KGL Group Ghana is prepared to increase its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) budget in the year 2024.
This was announced by Mr. Alex Apau Dadey, Executive Chairman of KGL Group, who said the social challenges facing the country are enormous and that informs their decision to increase their already existing CSR budget to a higher rate in the year 2024.
He revealed this at a Mental Health Corporate Fundraiser event organised by the KGL Foundation in Accra, where he attended to galvanise Corporate Ghana to support Mental Health Initiative.
According to him, wealth creation and poverty eradication through CSR interventions are two sides of the same coin and urged others who are fortunate enough to be wealth creators to deploy some of their resources towards Mental Health.
“One of the core values of the KGL Group is to deployed significant resources in Corporate Social Responsibility to augment government’s efforts. We purpose to leave each community we operate in better than we found it. This birthed the KGL Foundation, our CSR arm. The Group channels 5% of its profits into CSR through the KGL Foundation.”
Mr. Alex Apau Dadey averred that the KGL Foundation operates in five areas including Education, Youth Empowerment and Entrepreneurship, Sports, Health and Heritage, and with strong foundations in the principles of corporate governance, the company has continuously challenged the norm, and against all odds, built best in class business solutions that have gone on to transform industries.
He also stressed on the deployment of technology in critical sectors of the Ghanaian economy including the lottery sector which has curtailed illegal lottery operations hence raising significant funds to the consolidated fund and also through the use of Technology automating the Premix Fuel Supply chains hence eradicating the corruption associated with this sector.
“This has enabled us to use this platform to support the Fishermen in various social intervention areas including Mental health. We are therefore committed, as a Group, in deploying the same robust state of the art technology in resolving many issues in Healthcare delivery including Mental health.”
He noted that the KGL Foundation will be implementing best in class sustainable platform solutions while leveraging the Group’s global vendor partnerships to ensure they stay well ahead of the curve by supporting Mental health initiatives in Ghana.
Mr, Dadey also mentioned that, the KGL Group in prosecuting its corporate social responsibility agenda has been guided by 5 of the 19 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Commenting on the Mental Health Index, he pointed out that the idea was designed to help keep on top of our mental wellbeing
“We have designed an index that helps you calibrate your state of wellness and well-being so you can get to live your best possible life every day. With this intervention, we are able to guarantee privacy on a robust secure platform, ease of use to ensure all can have access, hereby eliminating the stigma associated with accessing mental health support in the country,” he said.
He said: “We are also able to leverage global partnerships with organizations like the Aurora Institute, the first and only non-profit incubator dedicated to funding and convening the world’s leading individuals, NGOs, and companies to solve the global mental health crisis. Partnerships like this help scale up the level of intervention and support we can attract as a country.”
Mr. Alex Apau Dadey urged Chief executives, and corporate Ghana to support this innovative cause to help bring change to Mental health narrative; the onus he said cannot be on government alone, “this affects you and I. It is no respecter of persons and does not discriminate. We all need to do our part in writing these wrongs, for our future generations’ sake.”
On his part, The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of KGL Foundation Elliot Dadey said in his address that, he had hoped one day we would be able to address the current Mental Health issues in Ghana.
“Mental healthcare in this country, in this continent, has long been overlooked, and we are starting the conversation here today so that we can change this.
We believe our app Mental Health Index, or MHI, is the first step to making this change. MHI works with a pool of talent from the medical, psychological and social field to ensure Individuals have the best resource for guidance and support in their everyday endeavours.”
He pointed out that the Mental Health Index seeks to provide a holistic assessment of mental well-being by combining important factors like the frequency of mental health illnesses, access to resources, societal stigma, and psychological well-being indicators.
“…It dives deep into mental health illnesses, unravelling their signs and symptoms, and equipping you with the knowledge to confront them head-on. It’s a lifeline for anyone seeking to understand and conquer mental health challenges first hand…As MHI, we extend our commitment to mental health by visiting high schools to educate students about the importance of mental health, equip their counsellors with essential training, and pledge to provide whatever resources their counselling departments need.”
The Second Lady Samira Bawumia and the wife of Otumfuor, Lady Julia expressed the hope that, Mental Health issues can be dealt with when corporate Ghana join hands and makes it happen.